Clarinet, E-flat
Maker
Graves & Co.
Date1830-1835 ca.
Place MadeWinchester, New Hampshire, United States, North America
Serial No.none
SignedStamped on all joints: GRAVES & Co / WINCHESTER / N. H. Stamped on bell: GRAVES & Co / WINCHESTER / N. H. / E-flat
MarkingsStamped on bell: an eagle with spread wings
Description4 sections: barrel, top joint, bottom joint, bell. Simple system; 5 keys with flat, round pad covers; boxwood body; ivory ferrules; brass keys; wood mouthpiece typical of the period, but without the long shank for tuning that the barrel has. According to Robert Eliason, this company was the first to challenge European instrument makers in the American market, with a larger production and an extensive line of instruments than any other American firm before the Civil War.
DimensionsUpper joint: 128 mm
Bottom joint: 176 mm
Bell: 92.5 mm
ProvenanceArne B. Larson Collection, Vermillion, South Dakota, 1979.
Published ReferencesKramer, Jerry E. _Clarinets Made between 1800 and 1880 from the Collections of the Shrine to Music Museum_. M.M. Thesis, University of South Dakota, 1983. (p. 55 plate VI; p. 57; Appendix p. 177).
Reeves, Deborah Check. "Historically Speaking." _The Clarinet _ 48, no. 3 (June 2021):32-34.
Credit LineArne B. Larson Collection, 1979
Object number02653
On View
Not on view
