Free-reed tandem horn
Maker
Swaine & Adeney
Date1907-1910 ca.
Place MadeLondon, England, Europe
Serial No.none
SignedStamped on bell: 1851 / (E) [face] (D) [laurel wreath] / 1862 / SWAINE & ADENEY / 185 PICCADILLY / LONDON / PROPRIETORS OF / KÖHLER & SON / MADE IN ENGLANDMarkingsEngraved on bell above the signature: B. M. Thomas. / Ye Herald of Ye King.
DescriptionBrass reed and resonator bell; nickel-silver garland, mouthpiece and ferrule. Single free reed.
Free-reed instruments with a single reed, covered with a mouthpiece that looks like that of a proper lip-vibrated instrument, were easier to use as signalling instruments by unskilled persons. This particular instrument with its straight resonator imitates an English tandem horn, a post horn which was used for post coaches, drawn by two horses in tandem. According to the inscription, NMM 7330 was used by one of the Heralds of the British Kings (the date would suggest King Edward VII, who reigned from 1901-1910). The dates in the signature refer to Köhler's participation in the Great Exhibitions of 1851 and the exhibition of 1862.
DimensionsHeight (including mouthpiece): 555 mm
Resonator length: 465 mm
Bell Diameter: 112 mm
Reed length: 18.5 mm
Width of the reed: 10 mm
ProvenancePurchased in 1998 from Tony Bingham, London, England.
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. 234–35, 270.
Credit LineJoe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection, 1999
Object number07330
On View
Not on view
1910-1920 ca.
1910-1920 ca.
