Nicolas Léonard Tourte

Nicolas Léonard Tourte (20 Jan 1746—11 Sept 1807/17), also known as Tourte 'l'Ainé' or l'aîné, was a French archetier from Paris, son of luthier Nicolas Pierre Tourte père (c.1700—1764), and father of bow-maker Charles Tourte (c.1770—before 1816). He stamped bows Tourte L. While his brother Francois Xavier Tourte (1747—1835), often cited as an "author of the modern bow," carries most of Tourte's dynasty fame, Nicolas's contributions to the rapid development of French archetiery in the transitional period from late Baroque to "contemporary" bows are equally significant. Nicolas began apprenticing at their father's workshop around 1756—therefore, he likely preceded François (who spent at least eight years pursuing horology at watchmaker's shop before re-embracing the family's traditional oeuvre). Around 1764, Nicolas Tourte focused on bow-making exclusively, but initially, he couldn't afford to run an independent workshop. (Instead, selling his bows through [I]François LeJeune's atelier). As soon as the French government alleviated restrictions on crafting precious metals (that affected most younger, "independent" bow-makers of the era), Tourtes began to proliferate. Since the 1770s, Nicolas Léonard perfected his violin bows, subsequently known as "Cramer model," at the time praised and in-demand among prominent violinists. Further in his career, Tourte advanced to "modernistic" Viotti style bows. Some experts suggest that after c.1780, Nicolas likely worked in extensive collaboration with François. Indeed, brothers Tourte solidified the premium imported Pernambuco wood and ebony for the heels (and occasionally other exotic types of wood) as "industrial" standards in bow-making. In addition to the violin family, Nicolas Tourte produced bows for other types of stringed instruments. He also might've practiced as a musician—archives in Parisian churches had mentions of Nicolas Tourte as a "musician," dated 1803 and 1821.