Dictionary of Makers

Son of violin maker Georges Lotte, François Lotte probably apprenticed with Charles Nicolas Bazin in Mirecourt, where he is listed as an employee until 1921. From 1922 to 1925 he worked for Eugène Cuniot-Hury, and in 1926 he set up his own workshop. 

Lotte's early bows are elegant with somewhat rounded heads, which gradually become more flattened and square in the 1930s. Beginning in 1936 he hired several assistants, including his son Roger François, who joined him in 1940. Lotte retired in 1960 but remained a presence in the shop until his death in 1970. He left behind a considerable number of bows ranging in quality from good to excellent, and his son continued the family tradition to the end of the 20th Century.