EF Ouchard

$5500

Emile Francois Ouchard "Pere", Mirecourt, France with Raffin Certification B4217

Emile Francois Ouchard, better known in the French bow world as Ouchard Pere (Ouchard the Father), was born in 1872 in Mirecourt, France.  At the age of 14 Emile Francois was apprenticed to Eugene Cuniot as a young bow maker.  Even though Cuniot died in 1910, Emile Francois stayed with the firm, assisting Cuniot’s widow with the business until 1922.  As a result, many of his bows are stamped Cuniot-Hury.  You will also find many of Emile Francois’s bows stamped with other violinmaker’s names as was the tradition in Mirecourt.  His son Emile Auguste started as a bow maker in 1913 and worked alongside the other workers in his father’s shop.  By the mid 1930’s there were 15 workers in the shop and in 1937 Emile Auguste bought out his father’s business.  From 1937 until his death in 1951, Emile Francois continued making beautiful bows in Mirecourt.

“L’Archet”-Millant & Raffin