Albert Leeson (b. 1903, d. 1946) was destined to begin a bow making apprenticeship at the age of 14, however, the First World War disrupted those plans. In 1920, at age 16, Leeson found himself one of eight recruits, without any previous experience, taken on by Hill & Sons under the tutelage of William Retford to learn the workshop method of making bows. After a somewhat slow start, Leeson and his colleague, Edgar Bishop, were assigned to making the best quality bows and indeed, they did just that. Leeson and Bishop became William Retford’s prized students and then the most revered bow makers at Hill and later known as the “Gold Squad.” It is matter of history that Leeson produced some of the finest gold-mounted bows in the history of W. E. Hill & Sons. In accordance with Hill tradition, each luthier was to stamp an assigned identification number on their work with Leeson being “3” and then stamping the year of the bow completion. The “3” on the tip plate indicates this bow was made by Albert Leeson. The “47” is normally the year the bow was finished however, Leeson was killed in a road accident on July 16, 1946. Most likely, this bow was unfinished at the time of his death and then posthumously finished in the Hill & Sons workshop. Come in, bring your cello, and a stack of your favorite music to play this delicious bow. The supple stick is drawn effortlessly across the strings yielding a yummy warm and rich cello sound we love to hear. Enjoy the complex and beautiful overtones flowing from the cello, too. We are certain you will discover more beauty as you play the bow fitting so organically into the hand. See you soon!