"Clarinet, nominal pitch: B♭"

Clarinet, nominal pitch: B♭ | Lawson | Circa 1794

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Clarinet

Lawson

London

Europe

England

United Kingdom

Instrument Data

Instrument Information

Title

Clarinet, nominal pitch: B♭

Accession Number

1155

Collection

MIMEd; C.H. Brackenbury Memorial Collection

Date Information

Date Made

Circa 1794

Period

18th century; 1780s; 1790s

Gallery Information

Gallery

Laigh Room

Case

18th-century orchestra display

Maker Information

Maker Name

Lawson

Maker Biography

H. Lawson was an English woodwind instrument workshop established in London in 1794. The workshop was listed as H. Lawson, H. Lawson and Co, and Joseph Lawson with no apparent chronology. Upon H. Lawson’s death in 1849, his daughter Miss Anne Lawson took over the family workshop in London.

Made In

City

London

Country

England

Description

Technical Description

Technical description: Boxwood with ivory ferrules and hallmarked silver keys. Six pieces: mouthpiece, barrel, upper section, middle section for the fingers of the right hand, lower section with keys, bell.
Mouthpiece of black wood, long tenon and short table; grooved for cord.
Barrel slightly flask-shaped with two ivory ferrules.
Upper section: Key-rings of rectangular section, both ornamented with a groove. Speaker liner projects almost to the centre of bore.
Middle section: Bulbous ferrule on top, half ivory, half wood, precursor of a thumb rest.
Lower section: Levers for L4, tone-hole and key for R4 mounted in an early bulb-shaped swelling. Round ring for the bascule key ornamented with a thin groove. Bevelled key-heads. Bell almost continuous.

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

Keyhead type: flat square.
Keymount type: turned rings; blocks; swelling; leaf springs; SATK.

Signature marks: Stamped "B / LAWSON / LONDON". Mouthpiece stamped on reed side, "METZLER / LONDON".

Playing accessories: The reed associated with this instrument has a thick tip and is possibly contemporary.

Specific literature references: Baines 1957, p.300.
Illustration references: Vol. 1, p.90; Campbell et al. 2004, p.93 Figure 3.9a.

Previous ownership: Purchased by H.I. Brackenbury from Benson, Bedford, for £1/0/0.
Current ownership: Government allocation to the University 1991.
(C.H. Brackenbury Memorial Collection).

Provenance

Purchased by H.I.|Brackenbury from Benson, Bedford, for £1/0/0. ; Government allocation to the University, 1991.

Classification