Double Reed Instruments

William Milhouse Bassoon, c.1800

Maple bassoon, pitched in C, with brass bands and six brass keys. Rare instrument.

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Anonymous, Bassoon, c.1800

Maple wood, French system, marked “Czecho-Slovakia.”

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G. Astor & Co., Octave (Small) Bassoon, c.1810

The Octave bassoon is a bassoon, but not an ordinary bassoon. This one is small (61.9cm high) and plays one octave above the normal bassoon. It is made from dark stained maple with six brass keys and brass bands. It is unsigned but made in England. The keywork pattern is very similar to the keywork of Goulding, but probably made by Wood.

These small bassoons are rare instruments. Few other small bassoons exist and nearly all are in museum collections

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Heckel, Contra-Bassoon, c.1900

Dark stained maple with German silver keywork, 163cm height.

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G. Astor & Co., F Bassoon, c.1800

London, England

83 cm long, with brass bands and six brass keys, maple, signed “G ASTOR & CO / LONDON”.

Guilloume Triebert, Cor Anglais, c.1820

Paris, France

Cor Anglais (English Horn), Ivory rings (5 saddle, 2 wood mounted), 7 brass keys, bulb shaped bell.

Bowed body wrapped in elephant hide with gold embellishments. This is a very rare instrument.

I. Milla, Soprano Crumhorn, 16th Century

Pitch A 440, with three different bells to help control the quality of the sound.

Original at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Wien, Austria.

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I. Milla, Alto Crumhorn, 16th Century

Replica by Stefan Beck, 2002.

Pitch A 440, with three different bells to (somewhat) control the quality of the sound.

Original at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Wien, Austria.

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Tenor Crumhorn, 16th Century

Replica by Gunther Körber, c.1973.

Maple wood

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I. Milla, Tenor Crumhorn, 16th Century

Replica by Stefan Beck.

Pitch of the instrument is A-440.

This instrument has three bells, these bells were used to control the quality of the sound.

Original at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Wien, Austria.

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I. Milla Crumhorn, Bass, 16th Century

Replica by Stefan Beck, 2002.

Pitch A:440, with three different bells to control quality of sound.

Original at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Wien, Austria.

Adele Papis, Oboe, 1880 Papis, Oboe, c.1880

System 6.

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Heckel, Oboe, c.1900

Biebrich, Germany

C-Pitch Oboe, System 6.

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N. Cousins, Oboe, 1719

Austria

Replica by Stefan Beck.

Original is at the Germanische National Museum, Nurnberg, Germany.

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Dupuis, Oboe, 1710

Replica by Stefan Beck.

Wood with ivory decorations.

The original of this A-392 pitch instrument is at the Berlin Music Instrument Museum, Berlin, Germany.

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Jacob Denner, Oboe, 1720

Replica by Stefan Beck.

2 keys.

Original at Germanisches National Museum, Nurnberg, Germany.

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Triebert, Oboe, 1875

Paris, France

Cocuswood with silver plated keywork.

Triebert’s System 6 with the addition of a few keys and a thumb plate. Original fitted case.

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Henri Pourcelle, Oboe, c.1875

Blackwood, 12 keys with 2 octave keys, half-hole key, 1 ring upper joint, 2 rings lower joint.

Henri Pourcelle is a trade name used for clarinets sold by Charles Bruno & Son in New York.

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G. Berhold Speier, Oboe, c.1865

Speier, Oboe, c.1865

Wein, Germany

African blackwood, 12 keys, 2 rings for 5 & 6, serial number 3866, 2 top joints.

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Anonymous, Oboe, c.1860

Probably imported from Europe for Carl Fisher, stamped “Carl Fisher, New York”.

Silver keywork, 12 keys, blackwood, 1 ring upper joint, 2 rings lower joint.

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I. T. Weigel, Oboe da Caccia, c.1730

Poland

Replica by Stefan Beck.

2 keys, leather wrapped.

Original at Stadmuseum, Poland

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I. Poerschman, Oboe d’Amore, 1750

Replica by Stefan Beck.

Original at the Metropolitan Museum, New York

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C. G. Conn Ltd., Oboe, c.1950

Elkhart, Indiana

American model, cocuswood

Pieffe Louis Gautrot, Tenor Sarrusophone, c.1857

Paris, France

Unusual instrument, limited number produced and few exist in the world.

The Sarrusophone was invented in the mid-1800’s by Gautrot to compete with the Saxophone, for use in military bands to bolster or replace oboes and bassoons. The instrument was named after the French bandmaster Sarrus, who Gautrot credited with the idea for the instrument.