Bow Holder: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This custom-made bow holder is made of wood, with a leather covered channel, and metal pin. It was previously used by American bow maker Arnold R. Bone.

Arnold R. Bone (July 26, 1913 - August 9, 2001) was an engineer, inventor, gunsmith, string instrument bowmaker. He grew up in South Ryegate, Vermont, and graduated from Wentworth Institute in 1935. After graduation, Bone worked at Irwin Auger Bit Company in Wilmington, Ohio before returning to Wentworth to teach Navy machinist mates during World War II until 1944. The final part of his career, Bone worked at Dennison Mfg. Company in Framingham (now Avery Dennison) when he retired in 2000.

Arnold R. Bone held numerous patents at Dennison, including several for the Swiftacher, the device for attaching tags to clothing with a nylon filament. His ubiquitous fasteners are still used today. Bone applied his engineering and master craftsman skills to making string instrument bows, and also became one of the world's most respected experts on repair and restoration of fine bows. His customers ranged from young students to members of professional ensembles such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and bows were shipped to him from all over the world.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Object Name: bow holder
• Physical Description: wood (overall material)
• Physical Description: metal (overall material)
• Physical Description: leather (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 1 3/4 in x 7/8 in x 2 1/2 in; 4.445 cm x 2.2225 cm x 6.35 cm
• ID Number: 2002.0167.22
• accession number: 2002.0167
• catalog number: 2002.0167.22
• Credit Line: Gift of Leona M. Bone Trust
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.