NICOLAS SIMON; PROBABLY SIMON FRNicolas Simon was one of the brightest craftsmen in French bow making, just like Charles Peccatte. The excess of light can make us blind and where Charles Peccatte benefited from the luminescence, it wasn't the case for Nicolas Simon – that is, “maybe” Simon FR.
Violin bow by Simon FR To understand how uncertain the information on Nicolas Simon is, I believe that the double quotes are enough. No one knows the origin of the F nor the R since these initials are not to be found in the family. There are two hypotheses of the origin. Mark Reingorf, sustains in an article on The Strad, that “FR”, is an abbreviation for the word frères, assuming a close collaboration between Nicolas, and his older brother Jean. The book “L'Archet”, sustains that if such a collaboration had taken place you should be able to find traces of it in the logs from the period. The “L'Archet” sustains that Nicolas added “FR” to the mark after he married, using the first letters of the surname of his wife; Madeleine FRébinet. At the time it was a used practice for commercial purposes. Some of the most known are Cuniot-Hury and Thibouiville-Lamy. The two hypotheses seems to be more or less equivalent, however observing the evolution of the work of Nicolas Simon, the first theory seems to prevail. Nicolas was born in Mirecourt on the 14th of november 1806. He was son of weaver Jean-Baptiste Simon and Marie-Anne Maurice. Both him and his older brother began the craft of bow making in their hometown. However we don't know for sure with whom. While his more noted cousin Pierre moved to Paris, in the end of the 1830ties, Nicolas remained in Mircourt, where he probably worked with his brother. This theory is endorsed by the fact that the widow continued to sell bows marked “Simon FR” 10 years after his death. Most probably they were made by other members of the family; his nephew Nicolas Simon (1835 – 80) was also bow maker. In the period 1840 - 45 the mark “Simon FR” appeared, initially I believe Nicolas chose this mark to distinguish from his cousin Pierre, which used the mark “Simon, Paris”. After his death the 6th of july 1864, things changed. His wife was responsible for bows with the mark of her husband but made by others. At the same time, as notoriety of Pierre increased, the surname Simon, got interesting to some workshops in Mirecourt. This trick between craftsmen and traders is possible because of the hopeless pride of the musicians. You might ask a musician which bow he plays and the answer will be a “Peccatte”, seeing the bow for yourself you find out that they have a Charles Peccatte. When you then point out that the difference isn't just in their birthname, they might get offended, they might think you are jealous, or they just don't get it. While Charles Peccatte, acted in legal way to defend himself from the parasit Lenoble, who continued to mark his bows “Peccatte”. Nicolas Simon, didn't even think about it and left his colleagues in Mirecourt, free to so. Many made copies of the models of Nicolas Simon, and then they marked them “Simon FR”, although with characters different from the original. C.N. Bazin, Morizot, Cuniot-Hury, ecc. The motive to do so is very simple: to ease the selling of the product waving it in front of the buyer the scent of a famous name. The bows
Violin bow in tortoise and silver Nicolas Simon The work of Simon FR, from 1840, until his death is principally divided in two parts. In the beginning the heads were wide and powerful and recall the Peccatte school, even though you recognize the influences of his cousin Pierre. The major part of the frogs made in this period has the throat that recalls Dominique Peccatte. After 1855, the work result less precise and the style less defined; he as well had probably begun to mark bow that wasn't completely his. To read more about this topic: EUGENE CUNIOT, AKA "CUNIOT-HURY" LOUIS EMILE GEROME THIBOUVILLE-LAME; THE MANAGING DIRECTOR PIERRE SIMON; THE NICE PECCATTE CHARLES NICOLAS BAZIN; THE FOUNDER LOUIS JOSEPH MORIZOT AND THE DYNASTIES So long, Paolo
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