Morizot Frères violin bow, Mirecourt circa 1950

One of the most prolific bow workshops in France as well as one of the leading exporters to the American market in the first decades of the 20th century, the Morizot firm was established by Louis Joseph Morizot (1874-1957), known as "Morizot père." Born in Mirecourt, Louis Joseph apprenticed in the workshops of Eugène Cuniot-Hury and Charles Nicolas Bazin before working for Eugène Sartory in 1914.

In 1920, Louis opened his own shop, where he built bows for numerous violin makers including Charles Bailly and Charles Jean Baptiste Collin-Mézin. This is also where he began training five of his six sons, Louis Gabriel, Marcel Louis, André Auguste, Paul Georges, and Paul Charles Morizot. At Morizot et fils, each of the sons specialized in different bow models and aspects of the bow-making process, resulting in a highly efficient and prolific output of bows supplied to numerous violin shops including those of Joseph Aubry, Paul Buescher, Georges Cone, Albert Deblaye, Roger & Max Millant, and Daniel Moinel. Renamed Morizot Frères in 1937 when Louis Joseph sold the business to his sons, the shop continued its extraordinary productivity through the 1950s, with its highest output occurring in the decade following World War II. Morizot Frères also trained and employed numerous talented bow makers including the cousins Bernard and Jean-Jaçques Millant. The business finally closed in 1970.