Double Flageolet
about 1820 (Made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The flageolet is a wind instrument with a whistle-like mouth piece. The English version originally had six finger-holes but no thumb-holes, which made it harder to play sharps and flats. William Bainbridge (d. 1831), a wood-turner and professional musician, introduced a thumb-hole and two keys in 1803 and added an extra pipe with more keys and fingerholes in 1806. Bainbridge also fitted his instruments with ivory studs to guide players to the correct holes. In spite of various subsequent modifications, Bainbridge never succeded in making the flageolet as popular with musicians as the flute, and it fell into disuse by the 1850s.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Turned and bored boxwood tubing, turned ivory mounts, silver |
| Brief description | Double Flageolet, boxwood, ivory mounts and studs, silver keys, William Bainbridge, English, about 1820. |
| Physical description | "Two boxwood pipes of equal length, held in wide head joint with two shut-off keys, one being a later replacement. The ivory mouthpiece is missing. Ivory mounted, with silver keys. The left-hand pipe has two keys and an undrilled block for an F key not fitted. The right-hand pipe has three keys, of which one is at the back." Anthony Baines, Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments (London, 1998), p. 89. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | Bainbridge 35 Holborn Hill London Patent (Stamped on the head joint.) |
| Gallery label | DOUBLE FLAGEOLET, English, by William Bainbridge, London, about 1830, stamped Bainbridge 35 Holborn Hill London Patent. Boxwood, with ivory mounts and silver keys.
Museum No.: 292-1882.
Non-keyboard Catalogue No.: 21/4.
William Bainbridge was principal flautist at Astley's theatre and claimed to have invented the double flageolet. His shop was at Holborn Hill from 1808 until 1831.(pre September 2000) |
| Object history | This instrument was part of the collections of Carl Engel (1818-1882), and was bought by the South Kensington Museum for £1. |
| Summary | The flageolet is a wind instrument with a whistle-like mouth piece. The English version originally had six finger-holes but no thumb-holes, which made it harder to play sharps and flats. William Bainbridge (d. 1831), a wood-turner and professional musician, introduced a thumb-hole and two keys in 1803 and added an extra pipe with more keys and fingerholes in 1806. Bainbridge also fitted his instruments with ivory studs to guide players to the correct holes. In spite of various subsequent modifications, Bainbridge never succeded in making the flageolet as popular with musicians as the flute, and it fell into disuse by the 1850s. |
| Bibliographic reference | Anthony Baines: Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments. (London, 1998), p. 89 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 292-1882 |
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| Record created | May 1, 2001 |
| Record URL |
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