Thompson Violoncello (1/4 size): Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This violoncello was made by Charles and Samuel Thompson in London, about 1780. It is a ¼ size violoncello, made of a table of pine slab cut on the bass side, joined to quarter-cut pine on the treble. The interior has square linings and ribs finished with a toothed plane. The lower bout ribs are joined at the bottom block with notches at the top and bottom of the joint for centering of the model . There is an original printed label inside the instrument:

The brothers Charles and Samuel Thompson were the successors of their father, Robert, who worked in St. Paul’s Church Yard around 1740-1769. The brothers continued the business (ca. 1770-1790), making and selling instruments of commercial quality made from common wood, with painted ink purfling and dark reddish-brown opaque varnish.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date made: ca 1780
• Object Name: cello
• Physical Description: pine (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 7 in x 14 1/4 in x 40 7/8 in; 17.78 cm x 36.195 cm x 103.8225 cm
• place made: United Kingdom: England, London
• ID Number: 1992.0516.01
• accession number: 1992.0516
• catalog number: 1992.0516.01
• Credit Line: Gift of Beatrice and Jacques Francais
• 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.