Thomas Key 5-Keyed Clarinet: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This clarinet was made by Thomas Key in London, England around 1813 to 1825. It is a 5-keyed clarinet in F, made of ebony with ivory ferrules and square brass keys. This clarinet is stamped:

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date made: 1813 - 1825
• maker: Key, Thomas
• Object Name: clarinet
• Physical Description: ebony (overall material)
• Physical Description: ivory (overall material)
• Physical Description: brass (overall material)
• Measurements: barrel: 1 7/8 in x 1 1/8 in; 4.7625 cm x 2.8575 cm
• Measurements: upper joint: 5 3/8 in x 1 7/16 in; 13.6525 cm x 3.65125 cm
• Measurements: lower joint: 6 11/16 in x 1 3/8 in; 16.98625 cm x 3.4925 cm
• Measurements: bell: 3 11/16 in x 2 7/16 in; 9.3345 cm x 6.19125 cm
• Measurements: overall: 15 1/2 in x 2 1/2 in; 39.37 cm x 6.35 cm
• place made: United Kingdom: England, London
• ID Number: MI.055768
• accession number: 11451
• catalog number: 55768
• Credit Line: Gift of George Woltz
• 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.