Clarinet, C
Maker
Graves & Alexander
Date1827-1832 ca.
Place MadeWinchester, New Hampshire, United States, North America
Serial No.none
SignedStamped on upper joint and bell: [eagle] / GRAVES & ALEXANDER / CStamped on barrel and twice on lower joint: GRAVES & ALEXANDER
Markingsnone
Description4 sections: barrel, top joint, bottom joint, bell. Simple system; 5 brass keys with flat, round covers, mounted in blocks and lower stock bulge, with flat springs attached to keys; boxwood body; ivory ferrules; cranked F-sharp/C-sharp key; mouthpiece of dark wood.
"Graves & Alexander" was how "Graves & Co." was known between 1827-1832, when Samuel Graves partnered with two others to manufacture woodwinds. According to Robert Eliason, this company was the first to challenge European instrument makers in the American market, with a larger production and a more extensive line of instruments than any other American firm before the Civil War.
DimensionsMeasurements exclude tenons.
Overall height (with mouthpiece): 591 mm
Complete (top of barrel to bottom of bell): 526 mm
Barrel: 54 mm
Upper joint: 166 mm
Lower joint: 208 mm
Length of bell: 98 mm
Maximum diameter of bell: 76 mm
Published ReferencesEliason, Robert E. _Graves and Company: Musical Instrument Makers_. Dearborn, Michigan: The Edison Institute, 1975.
Reeves, Deborah Check. "Historically Speaking," _The Clarinet_ 46, no. 1 (December 2018): 34-35.
Reeves, Deborah Check. "Historically Speaking." _The Clarinet _ 48, no. 3 (June 2021):32-34.
Credit LineGift of William J. Maynard, 1996
Object number05925
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