Bassoon
1810 - 1830 (Made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Bassoons cover the lower ranges of the woodwind section of an orchestra.. This example was made by Thomas Key (fl. 1800 - 1850), a specialist in woodwind and brass instruments, especially those used in military bands. By 1809 Key styled himself 'Musical Instrument Maker to their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales, Dukes of York, Kent, Cumberland and Cambridge', and he is known to have traded from Pall Mall, London, until 1813 and in Charing Cross, by 1836.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Turned and bored fruitwood tubing with brass mounts and keys. |
| Brief description | Bassoon, fruitwood with brass mounts and keys, Thomas Key, English, 1810-30. |
| Physical description | 'Of fruitwood, in four joints, brass mounted. Bell shape as on 23/9 [i.e. bassoon by Goulding (Museum no.: 637-1872)]. Eight brass keys, of which the two thumb keys on the wing joint differ from the others being square' - Anthony Baines:Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments (London, 1998), p. 99. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | Key London (Stamped on the wooden tubing) |
| Object history | This instrument was bought by the museum in 1882 for ten shillings (£0.50p). It had been part of the collections of Carl Engel (1818-1882), an eminent musicologist from Hanover, who published the Descriptive Catalogue of the Musical Instruments in the South Kensington Museum in 1874. The South Kensington Museum has been known as the Victoria & Albert Museum since 1899. |
| Summary | Bassoons cover the lower ranges of the woodwind section of an orchestra.. This example was made by Thomas Key (fl. 1800 - 1850), a specialist in woodwind and brass instruments, especially those used in military bands. By 1809 Key styled himself 'Musical Instrument Maker to their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales, Dukes of York, Kent, Cumberland and Cambridge', and he is known to have traded from Pall Mall, London, until 1813 and in Charing Cross, by 1836. |
| Bibliographic reference | Anthony Baines: Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments. (London, 1998), p. 99. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 289-1882 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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