According to the latest findings, his full name was Nikolai Ferdinandovich Kittel and that he was of Austrian origin as stated in his marriage certificate.
Despite their flexibility, Kittel bows have extremely quick playing characteristics alongside a unique beauty of tone.
Since then, Kittel's bows have been used by the greatest soloists, among them Henryk Wieniawski, Jascha Heifetz, Mischa Elman, Toscha Seidel, Leopold Auer, Isaac Stern, Paul Kochanski, Aaron Rosand, Erica Morini, Efrem Zimbalist, Leonid Kogan, Yehudi Menuhin, and Vadim Repin.
In 1999, a gold and tortoiseshell-mounted violin bow made in St Petersburg in the mid 19th century by Kittel and from the Yehudi Menuhin Collection, fetched £51,000 (Sotheby's auction, London : £58,650 / US$94,837 with buyers premium) more than three times the high pre-sale estimate (est: £10,000-15,000)."
Jump up ^ The Bows of Nikolai Kittel- Klaus Grünke, Josef P. Gabriel, Yung Chin and Andy Lim in co-operation with Darling Publications Andy Lim Cologne, 2011 Jump up ^ Nikolai Kittel- Violoncello, St. Petersburg, 1833, ed.