Marcel Charles Lapierre (1907-1979)

Archetier Marcel Charles Lapierre combined influences from a plethora of workshops in his native Mirecourt. He apprenticed from Jérôme Thibouville-Lamy before joining the Brouiller & Lotte workshop in 1923. When the Brouiller & Lotte collaboration folded, Lapierre continued to work with Lotte. Throughout his career, Lapierre worked for many of Mirecourt’s best archetiers, including Charles Louis Bazin, Morizot frères, and Émile Auguste Ouchard. In 1946, Lapierre moved to Geneva to take a position with Pierre Vidouez.

Lapierre returned home to open his own workshop in 1948. He produced his finest bows during this period, including an unusually high number of bass bows, which are particularly well regarded. Although Lapierre only worked for Ouchard briefly, the master’s influence is clear in the frogs and Lapierre’s habit of branding his bows on both sides of the stick.