Keyed bugle, E-flat
Date1820-1830 ca.
Place MadeEngland, Europe
Serial No.none
SignedEngraved on silver shield at the bell: Richd. WillisMarkingsnone
DescriptionCopper, German-silver garland and keys (replaced), silver nametag, two-piece, single loop, separate telescopic tuning slide (modern reproduction); originally six, now nine keys, lowest key open (regulating screw), all other keys closed.
Based on the inscription on the name tag on the bell, the presumed original owner of this keyed bugle was Richard Willis (ca. 1790-1830). Willis was the first full-time teacher of music, bandmaster, and composer at U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY, and first renowned keyed bugle soloist in America. This keyed bugle shows clear signs of an update from six to nine keys. Since the replaced keys are made of German silver, a material only common after Richard Willis's death, it is possible that it was updated by Willis's son, Richard Willis, Jr.
DimensionsHeight: 341 mm
Tube length: 934 mm, 1016 mm
Bore diameter (initial, minimum): 11.5 mm, 10.7 mm
Bell diameter: 119 mm
Keyhole positions (from bell end): 87 mm, 159 mm, 196 mm, 242 mm, 294 mm, 308 mm, 367 mm, 393 mm, 410 mm, 528 mm
Keyhole diameter: 23.2 mm, 19 mm, 21.5 mm, 14 mm, 13.5 mm, 12 mm, 10.5 mm, 11.5 mm, 12 mm
ProvenancePurchased in 1998 from Steve Dillon, Woodbridge, New Jersey.
Published ReferencesRalph T. Dudgeon. The Keyed Bugle (Metuchen, N.J., & London: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1993), p. 53; second edition (Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, Inc. 2004), 62.
Sabine Katharina Klaus. Trumpets and Other High Brass: A History Inspired by the Joe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection. Volume 2: Ways to Expand the Harmonic Series (Vermillion, SD: National Music Museum, 2013), pp. 223–24, 246, 258.
George E. Ryan, A Life of Bandmaster Richard Willis First Teacher of Music at West Point (Hanover, Massachusetts: The Christopher Publishing House, 2001), 59-61.
Credit LineJoe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection, 1999
Object number07312
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