Louis Morizot Frères – Bow Makers (1937 – 1970)

Louis Joseph Morizot (called Morizot père), and his five sons, (Morizot frères), are reputed to be among the most important French bow makers of the twentieth century. Together, they established one of the most successful ateliers in their hometown of Mirecourt.

Louis Morizot père followed in the bow-making footsteps of his grandfather Guillaume Maline (1792-1859). However, the bow maker who exerted the greatest influence over the young Louis was the highly acclaimed master Eugène Sartory, for whom he worked from around 1914 until 1919, when he opened his own atelier at no. 5 Rue Saint Georges. Starting in 1920, Louis started training five of his six sons in bow making in the shop and the foundation for an epic father-and-sons partnership was born. Eventually, “Louis Morizot et ses Fils” became the preeminent maker of bows in Mirecourt and provided bows to all violin makers in Mirecourt and many renowned ateliers throughout France.  

In 1937, the “Morizot frères” took over the management of the family business and each one assumed a specialized role in the creation of nearly every bow. Louis Gabriel Morizot worked primarily on bass bows and frogs, Marcel Louis Morizot roughed out sticks and André Auguste Morizot was the most skilled “bender” and focused on the production of the highest-quality gold- and silver-mounted models. Paul Georges Morizot was responsible for winding, hairing and polishing the bows, and Paul Charles Morizot, known as “le chef”, oversaw the business and  produced frogs whenever time permitted. The decade following World War II witnessed their greatest business success, with an extremely high volume of production.

In the 1960s, the family business started to decline and the atelier eventually closed in 1970. The workshop trained a number of great makers who bridged the transition between the traditional and contemporary French schools, including Jean-Jacques Millant and Bernard Millant.