Clarinet, C
Maker
Wolfgang Küss
Date1827-1830 ca.
Place MadeVienna, Austria, Europe
Serial No.none
SignedStamped on upper and lower joints only: [Hapsburg eagle] / Küss (script) / Wien (script) / C Stamped on bottom joint: [Hapsburg eagle] / Küss (script) / Wien (script)
Markingsnone
Description5 sections: barrel, top joint, middle joint, bottom joint, bell. Simple system; 5 brass keys with flat, square covers, mounted in rings, blocks, and lower stock bulge, with springs attached to keys; boxwood body; horn ferrules. Barrel and bell sections with ornately carved floral patterns. Mouthpiece of dark horn, too small for the C size but approximately from the same time.
Wolfgang Küss (c1779-1834) was an Austrian woodwind instrument active in Vienna from about 1810 until his death. In 1827, he was granted the royal privilege K. K. Hofinstrumentenmacher. A testimony to his reputation takes the form of an ad in the "Wiener Zeitung" of 29 August 1821 warning the public against counterfeits bearing his mark. His widow Barbara succeeded him until 1839, when Johann Stehle (c1808/9-1871) took over the business.
DimensionsOverall length: ca. 578 mm
Upper joint: 161 mm
Mouthpiece: 59 mm
Middle joint: 81 mm
Barrel: 63 mm
Lower joint: 117 mm
Bell: 97 mmMax diameter of bell: 76.5 mm
(all measurements excluding tenons)
ProvenancePurchased from Wurlitzer-Bruck, New York, New York, 1994.
Published References"1994 Acquisitions Include Rare Pianos, Harp, Woodwinds." _The Shrine to Music Museum Newsletter_ 22, no. 2 (January 1995): 1-6.
Larson, André P. _Beethoven: Musical Treasures from The Age of Revolution and Romance_, with essays by John Eliot Gardner, William Meredith, and Gerhard Stradner, exhibition catalog, Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, Santa Ana, California, January 30-March 21, 1999. Santa Ana: The Bowers Museum, 1999. (p. 12 (illus.))
Larson, André P. _Beethoven & Berlioz, Paris & Vienna: Musical Treasures from the Age of Revolution & Romance 1789-1848_, with essay by John Koster, exhibition catalog, Washington Pavilion, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, September 12-November 2, 2003. Vermillion: National Music Museum 2003. (p. 46)
Credit LineBoard of Trustees, 1994
Object number05774
On View
Not on view
