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Contra-bassophon
Alternate name:Contrabassophon
Alternate name:Bassoon
Maker: William G. Schultze
Date: 1880 ca.
Place Made:New York, New York, United States, North America
Serial No: none
SignedEngraved on a nickel-silver plate screwed to the bell: Contra=Bassophon / erfunden u. verfertigt [invented & built by] / von / Wm G. SCHULTZE / New York.
Markingsnone
DescriptionInstrument made of black-stained wood (aspen, cottonwood or poplar, with first section of birch). Brass (nickel- or silver-plated) ferrules and keywork. 17 keys with cupped covers and stuffed pads. Brass bocal.
This seems to be the only known contra-bassophon not attributed to a specific European maker. The instrument is handmade rather than a factory product, and could be a prototype. Research surrounding William G. Schulze (born Wilhelm Schultze) suggests that this instrument might have been made earlier in Germany, and may be connected with Haseneier's contrabassophon invention.
This seems to be the only known contra-bassophon not attributed to a specific European maker. The instrument is handmade rather than a factory product, and could be a prototype. Research surrounding William G. Schulze (born Wilhelm Schultze) suggests that this instrument might have been made earlier in Germany, and may be connected with Haseneier's contrabassophon invention.
DimensionsOverall length: 1390 mm
Approximate:
Length from top of bell to bottom of floor peg: 1680 mm
Width 260 mm
Depth with bocal and reed: 345 mm
Approximate:
Length from top of bell to bottom of floor peg: 1680 mm
Width 260 mm
Depth with bocal and reed: 345 mm
Terms
Credit Line: Gift of James and Emaline Newton, 1981
Not on view
Published References"Important Acquisitions Made by Museum During 1981." _The Shrine to Music Museum Newsletter_ 9, no. 3 (April 1982): 2.
"Phi Mu Alpha Provides Funding For Display Case." _The Shrine to Music Museum Newsletter_ 10, no. 1 (October 1982): 4.
Berdahl, Susan. "The First Hundred Years of the Boehm Flute in the United States, 1845-1945: a biographical dictionary of American Boehm Flute Makers." PhD diss., University of Minnesota, 1986. (pp. 695-699)
"Phi Mu Alpha Provides Funding For Display Case." _The Shrine to Music Museum Newsletter_ 10, no. 1 (October 1982): 4.
Berdahl, Susan. "The First Hundred Years of the Boehm Flute in the United States, 1845-1945: a biographical dictionary of American Boehm Flute Makers." PhD diss., University of Minnesota, 1986. (pp. 695-699)
Object number: 02887