Joseph Alfred Lamy (père) (8 September 1850 – 1919), was an important French

archetier A bow maker is a person who builds, repairs, and restores ancient or modern bows for bowed string instruments. These include violins, violas, cellos, double basses, viola d'amore, viola da gamba, etc. The French word for bowmaker (bow maker) is ...

( bow maker) of the early twentieth century known as Lamy Père. He was born in

Mirecourt Mirecourt () is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Mirecourt is known for lace-making and the manufacture of musical instruments, particularly those of the Violin family. Inhabitants are called Mirecurtiens. G ...

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

, France, where he apprenticed from 1862 to 1868, and later worked from 1877 to 1885 for

François Nicolas Voirin François Nicolas Voirin (1833–1885) was a French archetier ( bowmaker), known in his time as the "Modern Tourte." F.N. Voirin (the son of a gardener) was born in Paris France, the brother of Joseph Voirin (also a talented bowmaker) and cousin ...

in Paris. He started his apprenticeship in 1862 with Charles Claude Nicolas Husson. In 1868, he joined Gautrot's workshop in Château Thierry, where he met François Nicolas Voirin. In 1876, he came to Paris to work with François Nicolas Voirin, whose assistant he had become. In 1885, at the death of

, he started his own workshop at 34 rue du Faubourg Poissonière. His firstborn son Hippolyte Camille Lamy and nephew

Alfred Lamy Alfred Lamy (1886–1922) was a French maker of bows.Mary VanClayFinding Good Values in Bows Strings Magazine, July 2000, No. 87 Son of Joseph Jean Baptiste Lamy was born in Mirecourt, Vosges, France. He was apprenticed in Mirecourt with Bazin a ...

carried on the family tradition. He branded his bows "A. LAMY A PARIS".

Biography

Lamy emerged from a great period in French bowmaking and faithfully carried on the tradition. In 1889 he received the silver and gold medals at the Paris Exposition. His son Hippolyte Camille Lamy-''fils'', (1876–1944) carried on in his father's tradition succeeding him at his death in 1919. Like

, Lamy-père was influenced by

Jean Baptiste Vuillaume Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume (7 October 1798 – 19 March 1875) was a French luthier, businessman, inventor and winner of many awards. His workshop made over 3,000 instruments. Early life Vuillaume was born in Mirecourt, where his father and gra ...

, whose model he frequently used between 1886 and 1890. By 1880 many makers were beginning to consistently aim for an even heavier, stronger model, with varying degrees of success. Lamy's mature period began as early as 1889 to 1890, when he was still only forty. His model, characterized by a slight increase in volume for the sticks as well as for the frogs, became clearer and was adopted definitively. Lamy picked up where

left off, with similar variance in weight and quality of materials. His pupils include Eugene Sartory, whose work he had influenced as well as that of his son, Lamy-''fils''. "Today Lamy (père) is regarded as one of the foremost makers of his generation." �
Filimonov Fine Violins
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Awards and medals

He won the silver and gold Medals at the Paris Exposition in 1889.

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamy, Joseph Alfred 1850 births 1919 deaths Bow makers Luthiers from Mirecourt