The most illustrious of the Tu family, James was trained by his father, William, and worked for the Hill shop in London during the early part of his career. After falling out with the Hills, he left to establish his own shop. He was a prolific maker and is reported to have made as many as 5,000 bows, some with the help of his son, Alfred. His succe reached its peak in the 1880s, when leading musicia such as Piatti and Wilhelmj used his bows and he won a gold medal at London\'s 1885 Inventio Exhibition. Tu initially used a \'J. Tu\' brand stam after around 1878 his bows are marked \'Jas Tu\'. His bows made for the Hill shop are branded \'W. E. Hill\'.