Paul Weidhaas (1894–1962) was a German Master bowmaker or ''bogenmacher''.
Biography
Paul Weidhaas learned bow making from his father
Ewald Weidhaas, in
Markneukirchen
Markneukirchen () is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in Saxony, Germany, close to the Czech Republic, Czech border. It lies in the Elster Mountains (part of the Fichtel Mountains), southeast of Plauen, and northeast of Aš (Czech Republic) ...
. He then worked for E. Liebich in Breslau from 1911 to 1913 and then for Winterling in Hamburg 1913-1915. He took his master's examination (in bow making) in Hamburg in 1918. He returned to Markneukirchen and took over managing his father's shop. Between 1920-1930, to deepen his knowledge in bow making and networking he travelled to Holland where he worked for
Max Möller, Vedral and J. Stüber and then Paris, where he worked for the highly esteemed master bow maker
Victor Fetique
The name Victor or Viktor may refer to:
* Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname
Arts and entertainment
Film
* ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film
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alongside Victor's son
Marcel Fetique and nephew
André Richaume
André Georges Richaume (8 February 1905 in Mirecourt – 31 March 1966 in Paris) was a prominent French bowmaker, from a family of bowmakers.
His grandfather was Charles Claude Fétique (1853–1911), who was a violin maker, and who had ...
. This had a profound and lasting effect on his subsequent work.
During WWII, business came to a halt but resumed activity soon afterwards. In 1945, 18 year old
Siegfried Finkel came to Markneukirchen to learn bow making. After completing his apprenticeship became Weidhaas's associate. Siegfried also met Weidhaas's daughter Hanna, fell in love, and married. Their son
Johannes Siegfried Finkel was born in 1947. Paul Weidhaas died on 15 February, 1962.
"The high quality of his bows and his good business sense made Paul one of the most important German bow makers of the mid-20th century."
[https://www.finkel-bows.ch/en/]
References
Sources
*Five by Five (Five generations of Weidhaas/Finkel dynasty) by Gennady Filimonov The Strad magazine December 2024 p.54-p.59
* Die Geigen und Lautenmacher - by Lutgendorff, Frankfurt 1922
*Encyclopedia of the Violin - Alberto Bachmann
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*Deutsche Bogenmacher-German Bow Makers Klaus Grunke, Hans Karl Schmidt, Wolfgang Zunterer 2000 ISBN 10: 3000058397 ISBN 13: 9783000058394
*https://www.finkel-bows.ch/en/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weidhaas, Paul
1894 births
1962 deaths
Bow makers
German luthiers
People from Markneukirchen