François Nicolas Voirin

Who was François Nicolas Voirin?

François Nicolas Voirin was a French archetier, known in his time as the "Modern Tourte."

F.N. Voirin was born in Paris France, the brother of Joseph Voirin and cousin to Jean Baptiste Vuillaume. At age of 12, he served his apprenticeship in Mirecourt, with Jean SIMON, brother of Nicolas SIMON, also known as SIMON FR, and later worked in the workshop of Vuillaume from 1855 to 1870 where he succeeded Nicolas Maline and revolutionized bow design and construction.

After his tenure at the Vuillaume shop, he established his own business at 3 rue du Bouloi, Paris, where he worked until his sudden death. He was a prolific maker and is generally regarded as the most important bowmaker of the second half of the 19th century. His bows are of superb quality. Voirin produced a radically different bow from François Tourte; Slimmer head; the camber moved closer to head, yielding a stronger stick and reducing the thickness of the shaft especially at the heel. Primarily, Voirin made bows with the Vuillaume-style frog. The micro-photos of Vuillaume were placed mainly in bows by Voirin using the Stanhope lens.