Clarinet, nominal pitch: C

Maino & Orsi

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Instrument

Clarinet/Clarinets/Wind/Musical Instrument ; Clarinet

Instrument Family

Wind

Maker

Maino & Orsi

Place Made

Milan ; Europe ; Italy ; Southern Europe

Date Made

Circa 1890

Description

Technical description: Schaffner system; patented by Carlo Thomaso Giorgi. An attempt to open the whole of one wall of the bore below the length needed for each note. Ebonite, body in one piece, with nearly circular bore but of rectangular section externally, the upper side closed by a metal plate with twenty rectangular holes having raised edges to provide seatings for the key-flaps; keys of german silver, rectangular (width 17.9mm, lengths various and following no simple formula) having curved projections hinged to brackets on either side of the flat cover plate of the bore. The lower nine key flaps are closed by the fingers and the right thumb, the next ten by steel push-rods, of which there are five on the right side and seven on the left side of the instrument; the top key is normally closed, being a cross-the-break trill key operated by a lever under L2; the thumb `rest' is pivoted and controls the lowest key via a short push-rod on the left side of the body. The bell is integral and only slightly flared, with half-round german silver rim; there is no separate barrel, but the body has a socket at the top with a built-up ribbed ferrule. There are two spring-loaded speaker keys hinged to a single pivot, they are opened by a two-way push-rod moved by the phalange of the left thumb; their liners project to the centre of the bore. L0: Phalange rests on a rocking `crutch' opening one or the other of two spring-loaded speakers. L1: Pad rests on a bridge-lever closing key 12 by direct pressure and keys 1-11 by push-rods, 4 on right side, 3 on left; phalange rests on a lever closing keys 2-8 through push-rod on the left. L2: Pad closes key 13 directly. L3: Pad closes key 14 directly and key 2 via a push-rod on left side; phalange rests on a separate lever to open key 1 via push-rod on left. L4: Pad closes key 15 directly, also key 3 via a push-rod on left side. R0: Closes key 20 via a short push-rod on left side. R1: Closes key 16 directly, also keys 4 and 9 via push-rods on right. R2: Closes key 17 directly, also keys 5 and 10 via push-rods on right. R3: Closes key 18 directly, also keys 4, 6 and 11 via push-rods on right. R4: Closes key 19 by pressure on a hinged touch, also key 7 via push-rod on right side. Mouthpiece not present. Repair History: The pivoted `rest' for R0 may be a later modification: three screw-holes about 10mm above this thumb `key' suggest that there was once a fixed thumb rest, but it may originally have been hinged to a fixed plate; there are signs of alteration but it is hard to see how else the lowest key could have been closed.

Notes

T.K. Dibley, 3.9.89. H. Fricke, Oct-Dec 2006.

Measurements

632; to top of body 560.

Provenance

ex- Tom Dibley collection; ex- Nettlefold collection. ; Bequest of Sir Nicholas Shackleton, 2006.

Collection

MIMEd ; Sir Nicholas Shackleton Collection

Accession Number

2622

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