Clarinet in A

ca. 1810
Not on view
The Goulding firm was established by George Goulding as "Goulding & Co." around 1800 in London. Between 1804 and 1808 the workshop was at the address "No. 117 New Bond Street". Later Goulding instruments were stamped with the coat of arms of the prince and princess of Wales, because the firm was appointed as "music-sellers to the Prince and Princess of Wales. (Waterhouse, NLI, 142, Fricke, Catalogue of the Sir Nicholas Shackleton Collection, 102-103 ).

Overall size: 678
Bore: c-hole 13.8; f-hole: 13.8
Conical part: 150

Technical description: Boxwood with ivory ferrules and brass keywork. Five pieces: mouthpiece, barrel, upper section, middle joint for the fingers of the right hand and lower joint with keys in one section, bell. Rosewood mouthpiece with a long tenon to fit the English-style flask shaped barrel, grooved for cord, and probably not original. Barrel unstamped and possibly not belonging to the instrument. Rudiments of square wooden rings like on other Goulding clarinets. Speaker liner projects almost to the centre of the bore. Levers for L4, tone-hole and key for R4 mounted in a bell-shaped swelling. Zig-zag F♯3/C♯5 lever guided in rudiment of a square wooden ring. Bevelled G♯3/E♭5.

L0:   T; speaker.
L1:   T; throat A♮.
L2:   T.
L3:   T; cross E♭4/B♭5.
L4:   E3/B♮4; F♯3/C♯5.
R1:   T; trill key for throat A-B♮.
R2:   T.
R3:   T.
R4:   T; G♯3/E♭5.

Keyhead type: flat square.
Keymount type: blocks, swelling.
Inscribed on upper and lower section "GOULDING & Co", on bell also "No. 117 NEW BOND STREET / LONDON"
(Heike Fricke, 2014)

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Clarinet in A
  • Maker: George Goulding Co. (British, founded London 1785)
  • Date: ca. 1810
  • Geography: London, England, United Kingdom
  • Culture: British
  • Medium: Boxwood, ivory, brass
  • Dimensions: L. 67.8 cm (26-3/4 in.)
  • Classification: Aerophone-Reed Vibrated-single reed cylindrical
  • Credit Line: Gift of William J. Maynard, 1997
  • Object Number: 1997.219.4
  • Curatorial Department: Musical Instruments

More Artwork

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.