Hopkins 5-Keyed Clarinet: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This clarinet was made by Asa Hopkins in Litchfield, Connecticut around 1829 to 1837. It is a 5-keyed clarinet in C made of boxwood with ivory ferrules and square brass keys. This clarinet is stamped:

Asa Hopkins (1779-1838) began his career as a clockmaker from about 1810 to 1825. Hopkins moved his shop to a location on the Naugatuck River and began making musical instruments in 1829. A lathe attributed to the workshop of Asa Hopkins is in the museum’s Mechanical and Civil Engineering collection (Cat. #333592).

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date made: 1829-1837
• maker: Hopkins, Asa
• Object Name: clarinet
• Physical Description: boxwood (overall material)
• Physical Description: ivory (overall material)
• Physical Description: brass (overall material)
• Measurements: mouthpiece: 3 5/8 in x 15/16 in; 9.2075 cm x 2.38125 cm
• Measurements: upper joint: 13 1/4 in x 1 3/8 in; 33.655 cm x 3.4925 cm
• Measurements: lower joint: 9 in x 1 5/8 in; 22.86 cm x 4.1275 cm
• Measurements: bell: 4 3/16 in x 3 in; 10.63625 cm x 7.62 cm
• Measurements: overall: 21 in x 3 in; 53.34 cm x 7.62 cm
• place made: United States: Connecticut, Litchfield
• ID Number: MI.373850
• accession number: 135713
• catalog number: 373850
• Credit Line: Gift of A. Cyrus Yingst
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.