Double flageolet made by John Simpson
Object No. 11041
This is the only example of a double flageolet in the Powerhouse Museum's collection and is an interesting contrast to other more conventional wind instruments in the collection made in London at around the same period. The double flageolet, which appears to have been developed by London maker William Bainbridge during the early nineteenth century, attracted great popularity amongst amateur musicians due to its relative ease to play and its full sound. This popularity led several other makers, such as Simpson, to begin making double flageolets and so gives some indication of what instruments became fashionable amongst amateur players in early nineteenth century England. Given the English origins of European settlement in Australia it is not surprising to find references to flageolets being sold in early Australian newspapers. Although single flageolets were known and advertisements in Sydney from at least 1809 mention flageolets for sale, it is not until about 1821 that "patent flageolets" are mentioned and about 1825 that double flageolets are mentioned specifically. Numerous advertisements for musical instruments in the 1830s and 1840s mentioned the availability of flageolets indicating that some degree of popularity for them was also experienced in colonial Australia. This flageolet was also one of the earliest musical instruments to be acquired into the Museum's collection in 1886 and so is part of a small group of instruments acquired during the nineteenth century that mark the beginnings of the Museum's extensive musical instrument collection. Further Reading: William Waterhouse; "The Double Flageolet - Made In England", in Galpin Society Journal, Vo.52, April 1999, pp172-182. William Waterhouse; The New Langwill Index - a dictionary of musical wind-instruments makers and inventors (Tony Bingham, London, 1993). Michael Lea Curator, music & musical instruments, February, 2012.
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Summary
Object Statement
Double flageolet, Simpson patent, boxwood / ivory / silver, made by John Simpson, 260 Regent Street and Oxford Street, London, c.1826-1830
Physical Description
Double flageolet, Simpson patent, boxwood / ivory / silver, made by John Simpson, 260 Regent Street and Oxford Street, London, c.1826-1830 Double flagolet in brown polished wood and ivory in 6 sections: 1) mouthpiece, ivory, rectangular with curved sides and circular hole. 2) tapered 'finial' like section with an ivory band at narrow top, flaring to the joint, short joint section bound in white waxed thread. 3) a wide flared section banded top and bottom by ivory (bottom ivory band is cracked right through), the barrel of the instrument 4) is a large wooden barrel with several concentric circles carved in to the surface, 2 silver levered keys restrict the air passage to the sound holes either side of the barrel, 2 holes at the bottom are for the attachment of the key shafts. The left hand side key shaft 5) is slightly tapered with 6 uncovered finger holes of varying sizes, and 4 keyed holes, to joint is bound in white thread, there is a small, single ivory knob between the top two holes and an ivory foot, the shaft has been flattened down the right hand side to fit to the right shaft. Th right hand key shaft 6) has a slight taper, 6 uncovered finger holes and three keyed holes, the bottom key is missing (once had a 4th keyed hole, above the bottom hole, hole has been plugged and key lug removed, a 7th finger hole at the top has also been plugged) the joint is bound in white thread and shaft has several small ivory knobs between holes and an ivory foot, left hand side of shaft is flattened to fit to left key shaft.
PRODUCTION
Notes
The address on the flageolet is "260 Regent Street". Simpson was at this address between approx 1826 and 1830, he then moved to 266 Regent Street and was there from approx 1830 until his death in 1869. The original inventor of the double flageolet was William Bainbridge of London but several other London makers such as John Simpson, began making similar instruments to take advatage of the instrument's popularity. John Simpson also published a tutor, "John Simpson's complete Preceptor for the Improved Patent Single & Double Flageolet (London, c.1829)", which was one of several tutors written and published for the flageolet between about 1810 and 1830.
HISTORY
Notes
The donor ran a musical instrument shop in Sydney during the 1880s but it is not known where he sourced the instrument or how long it had been in Australia prior to its donation to the museum in 1886. This is one of the earliest musical instruments acquired by the museum. It is uncertain when the first double flageolets came into Australia and an early reference to an unspecified flageolet for sale as part of assorted items of an estate can be found in The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, (8/1/1809, p.1). However, this may refer to the earlier common single flageolet that had been known in Europe for centuries. By 1815 retailers were selling a variety of musical instruments and again flageolets are mentioned amongst other types of woodwinds (Ibid, 2/9/1815, p.2). Later in 1821, Sydney retailer's MacQueen and Atkinson specify the sale of "patent flageolets" (Ibid, 8/12/1821, p.2). This may refer to either a Bainbridge patent from 1803 for an octave flageolet or a later patent for a flageolet patented by Thomas Scott in 1805 (see Waterhouse, 1999). However, by 1825 a Sydney professor of music, Mr Edwards, advertised for sale a range of musical instruments including the "double flageolet" (Op cit, 17/11/1825, p.4). Michael Lea Curator, music & musical instruments, February, 2012.
SOURCE
Credit Line
Gift of L A Pogonowski, 1886
Acquisition Date
19 March 1886
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