| Musical Instruments Available from Harvey Dodworth in 1856 |
This piano arrangement of "Amelia Polka", published in 1856,
was among a small collection of piano arrangements published
by Harvey Dodworth that I found back in the 1980s. It is
certainly not a remarkable tune, but must have been among
hundreds of dance pieces vying for popularity at the time.
Harvey and his brother Allen Dodworth were important in the
brass band and dance music scene in New York since the 1840s.
I was very excited when I discovered that on the back cover is a
list of some of the music available from Dodworth's but more
importantly, the bottom third of this ad is an extensive list of
brass instruments that were for sale from them (third image
down on the left). This is the only list that I know of showing
what brass instruments were available in a major US city at this
early date. "Dodworth's Brass Band School" had been published
three years earlier and is widely know among fans of early
American brass bands. This illustrates instruments that were
popular along with fingering charts and a few simple tunes to get
your band started with but doesn't specifically mention what
instruments that they were selling.
That said, it is not completely clear what instruments are being
offered on this list either. When I first studied this list, I
assumed that the more expensive, rotary valve instruments listed
on the right were made in the US and the less expensive
instruments listed on the right were imports. There are very few
existing instruments with the Dodworth name on them and they
seem to be from a decade later. I picture here an Eb cornet with
bell over the shoulder that is quite obviously the same as those
sold by John Stratton in the 1860s through the 1880s and known
to be inexpensive imported alternatives to the more expensive
instruments made in Massachusetts. In the 1853 "...Brass Band
School", Dodworth gives very high praise to instruments made
by Isaac Fiske and specifically the five valve cornet made for
him personally. Also, Fiske advertised basses in the unusual key
of Ab in his 1861 catalog and many of the prices listed here are
the same as in that same catalog. This doesn't prove anything,
but it indicates some likelihood that Dodworth was selling Fiske's
instruments in New York in the 1850s. Intriguingly, there is also
listed here CC tubas and the only known early US made CC
tuba is one made by Thomas Paine in the 1850s.
The keyed bugles listed could be those made by Wright and/or
Graves in Boston at that time. They could have been imports as
well, but there are no known imports with more than 9 keys or
pure silver keys known to us. I don't believe that there are any
keyed bugles known to exist with the Dodworth name on them
although I have restored several unsigned Eb keyed bugles that
were obviously made by Graves. Again, we can speculate and
make connections, but there is no solid proof.
The list of valve instruments on the right may seem a bit
confusing at first look, but all the forms mentioned are known to
have been made in Europe (France and German countries) for
the US market. "Ordinary Sax Valves" are what we call
"Berliner Valves" today and there are a large number of such
instruments both unsigned and signed by US sellers. The reason
that they became known as "Sax Valves" is because the earliest
Saxhorns imported into the US had Berliner valves. Brass
instruments with Perinet valves were much less commonly used
here in those years, but a number of examples, known to have
been sold new here, were made in Paris by Gautrot. I can't say
for sure what the difference was between "Sax Horns" and
"Ebor Cornos", but I believe that the latter were more cornet
proportions compared to the valve bugle or flugelhorn
proportions of the former. The "Trombocellos" all have
"Double" or what are known today as "Vienna" valves. These
may have been very similar to those made by Graves and Co. in
the 1840s, but more likely the somewhat larger bore instruments
that were being made in Austria and Germany by the mid-1850s.
I welcome any insights or other comments about this document.
was among a small collection of piano arrangements published
by Harvey Dodworth that I found back in the 1980s. It is
certainly not a remarkable tune, but must have been among
hundreds of dance pieces vying for popularity at the time.
Harvey and his brother Allen Dodworth were important in the
brass band and dance music scene in New York since the 1840s.
I was very excited when I discovered that on the back cover is a
list of some of the music available from Dodworth's but more
importantly, the bottom third of this ad is an extensive list of
brass instruments that were for sale from them (third image
down on the left). This is the only list that I know of showing
what brass instruments were available in a major US city at this
early date. "Dodworth's Brass Band School" had been published
three years earlier and is widely know among fans of early
American brass bands. This illustrates instruments that were
popular along with fingering charts and a few simple tunes to get
your band started with but doesn't specifically mention what
instruments that they were selling.
That said, it is not completely clear what instruments are being
offered on this list either. When I first studied this list, I
assumed that the more expensive, rotary valve instruments listed
on the right were made in the US and the less expensive
instruments listed on the right were imports. There are very few
existing instruments with the Dodworth name on them and they
seem to be from a decade later. I picture here an Eb cornet with
bell over the shoulder that is quite obviously the same as those
sold by John Stratton in the 1860s through the 1880s and known
to be inexpensive imported alternatives to the more expensive
instruments made in Massachusetts. In the 1853 "...Brass Band
School", Dodworth gives very high praise to instruments made
by Isaac Fiske and specifically the five valve cornet made for
him personally. Also, Fiske advertised basses in the unusual key
of Ab in his 1861 catalog and many of the prices listed here are
the same as in that same catalog. This doesn't prove anything,
but it indicates some likelihood that Dodworth was selling Fiske's
instruments in New York in the 1850s. Intriguingly, there is also
listed here CC tubas and the only known early US made CC
tuba is one made by Thomas Paine in the 1850s.
The keyed bugles listed could be those made by Wright and/or
Graves in Boston at that time. They could have been imports as
well, but there are no known imports with more than 9 keys or
pure silver keys known to us. I don't believe that there are any
keyed bugles known to exist with the Dodworth name on them
although I have restored several unsigned Eb keyed bugles that
were obviously made by Graves. Again, we can speculate and
make connections, but there is no solid proof.
The list of valve instruments on the right may seem a bit
confusing at first look, but all the forms mentioned are known to
have been made in Europe (France and German countries) for
the US market. "Ordinary Sax Valves" are what we call
"Berliner Valves" today and there are a large number of such
instruments both unsigned and signed by US sellers. The reason
that they became known as "Sax Valves" is because the earliest
Saxhorns imported into the US had Berliner valves. Brass
instruments with Perinet valves were much less commonly used
here in those years, but a number of examples, known to have
been sold new here, were made in Paris by Gautrot. I can't say
for sure what the difference was between "Sax Horns" and
"Ebor Cornos", but I believe that the latter were more cornet
proportions compared to the valve bugle or flugelhorn
proportions of the former. The "Trombocellos" all have
"Double" or what are known today as "Vienna" valves. These
may have been very similar to those made by Graves and Co. in
the 1840s, but more likely the somewhat larger bore instruments
that were being made in Austria and Germany by the mid-1850s.
I welcome any insights or other comments about this document.
Click images for larger views.
List of music on back cover.
List of instruments on back cover.
