François "Prosper" Colas (1842–1919) was a French archetier /

bow maker 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 ...

based in Mirecourt, France. Born in

Goincourt Goincourt () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. See also * Communes of the Oise department The following is a list of the 679 communes of the Oise department of France. The communes cooperate in the following intercommun ...

(Meurthe et Moselle) in 1842, he apprenticed locally, and was influenced by the late Dominique Peccatte school (in his early period). Prosper Colas's work is similar to that of François Bazin,

Charles Claude Husson Charles Claude Husson (1847 in Mirecourt, Vosges – 1915) was an influential French archetier ( bow maker). Charles Claude Husson was the son of the archetier Charles Claude Nicolas Husson. He served his apprenticeship under his father, alm ...

, and Pierre Cuniot. Around 1871, he came to Paris where he likely met Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume and worked for him. The first bows bearing his brand can be dated to this period and reflect Vuillaume's influence (with the "Vuillaume style frogs"). Prosper Colas worked for a varied number of makers and produced a huge quantity of bows. His best production was from the turn of the century (early 20th century). His lower tier production is stamped “P.C.”. One can also find instruments bearing Prosper Colas's label as he sold mail order instruments made by the primary Mirecourt workshops of his time:

Jérôme Thibouville-Lamy Jérôme Thibouville-Lamy & Cie, abbreviated as "J.T.L.", was a French musical instrument making company, formed in the mid 19th century from the merger of pre-existing makers. It was based in Mirecourt, France, and was active producing large n ...

and Marc Laberte. "Prosper Colas died in 1919, at which point his business was taken over by Ferret-Marcotte".Filimonov Fine Violins

References

* * * * Dictionnaire Universel del Luthiers - Rene Vannes 1951,1972, 1985 (vol.3) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cuniot-Hury, Eugene 1842 births 1919 deaths Bow makers 19th-century French people Luthiers from Mirecourt