Natural trumpet, G
Maker
Joseph Felix Riedl
Date1818-1826 ca.
Place MadeVienna, Austria, Europe
Serial No.none
SignedEmbossed on bell garland: Joseph Riedl [Hapsburg double eagle with crown, scepter, and orb] in Wien.MarkingsStamped on garland below signature: "I826" [presumably date]
DescriptionBrass; garland with serrated upper edge with scallop-shell decoration and engraved lines; Nuremberg rim, flattened wire with impressed hatching; ferrules with engraved lines.
It is not entirely clear whether the stamped digits “I826” on the garland should be interpreted as the date of manufacture or whether they have another meaning, such as a regimental number.
This trumpet could have been used as a military signaling instrument or in an ensemble of trumpets in various keys. It was built by one of the most important brass instrument makers of the early valve era in Vienna. Joseph Felix Riedl (ca. 1760-1837) received a patent for double piston valves, the later “Vienna Valve,” in 1823, and was also involved in improvements of the rotary valve. The present instrument, however, shows none of these innovations.
DimensionsHeight: 517 mm
Tube length: 1534 mm
Bore diameter (initial, minimum): 11.3 mm, 9.9 mm
Bell diameter: 126 mm
ProvenancePurchased in 2004 from Jack and Suzanne Sigler, Ruskin, Florida.
Published ReferencesKlaus, Sabine Katharina. Trumpets and Other High Brass: A History Inspired by the Joe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection. Volume 1: Instruments of the Single Harmonic Series (Vermillion, SD: National Music Museum, 2012), pp. 184–87, 261. Volume 2: Ways to Expand the Harmonic Series (Vermillion, SD: National Music Museum, 2013), pp. 153, 174, 176.
Credit LineJoe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection, 2004
Object number10784
On View
Not on view
