Title: Keyed Bugle

Maker: E. G. Wright

Model: Presentation Model for S. Wells Phillips

Date: 1853

Geography: Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Material: Solid nickel or silver

Serial Number: N/A

Accession Number: GL-124_A11-02

Provenance: Founding Greenleaf Donation from Conn Museum, 1969

Description

Key: E-flat

Pitch: High (likely)

Finish: Solid nickel or silver

Lacquer: Possibly

Engraving: Engraved bell garland and bell with elaborate floral and decorative design surrounding the inscription: “PRESENTED TO / S. Wells Phillips. / Leader of the Greenport Brass Band / as a mark of respect / BY HIS / fellow citizens of Greenport / 1853.” Inscribed with “MADE BY E.G. WRIGHT BOSTON” inside a banner. Intricately engraved receiver sleeve/lead pipe with geometric and floral patterns, along with other select areas on the instrument.

Mouthpiece: Yes, original

Accessories: No

Case: No

Notes:

11 keys
Adjustable tuning shank with screw mechanism
Saddle rest
Knurled rims on mouthpiece
E. G. Wright was a premier maker of keyed bugles in the United States, beginning around 1841 in Boston, Massachusetts. This bugle is an example of a “presentation model,” which are instruments made to honor an individual. The following is an excerpt from Keyed Bugles in the United States by Robert E. Eliason (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1972) (pages 26-28, 32):
- “About 1835, probably as a result of similar changes made in European bands, most bands in the United States became all brass by discarding their clarinets and flutes in favor of keyed bugles, and their bassoons and serpents for the advantages of ophicleides or valved basses. … Bands became a very popular form of entertainment during the 1840s. Almost every town had its military band loosely attached to the town militia, and some towns had independent bands as well. They played for militia musters and drills, marched in parades, and put on concerts with other town musicians. They were often engaged for political events, picnics, and dances. Occasionally, they played in places of general entertainment such as Niblo's and Castle Garden in New York. On occasion, they could also be heard at the theaters before the first curtain and between acts. … The change to brass bands with the keyed bugle as the leading solo voice encouraged a number of soloists on the instrument. Inscriptions on gift instruments and newspaper accounts of other gift bugles tell of G. R. Choate, leader of the 35th N.Y.V. Regimental Band; Rufus Pond, leader of the Milford Brass Band; S. Wells Phillips, leader of the Greenport Brass Band; D. Chase of the Clinton Brass Band; Francis W. Morse and Jerome H. Smith, leaders of the Salem Brass Band; J. C. Greene, leader of the American Brass Band of Providence; A. R. Fitch of the Fitchburg Cornet Band; Captain Ed Pier of Corning; D. C. Hall, leader of the Lowell Brass Band; and A. W. Fisher of Bangor, Maine. Some measure of the honor given these men is found in the cost of gift bugles presented to them. An E. G. Wright silver e-flat bugle with 12 keys for A. W. Fisher cost the citizens of Bangor $350 in 1851. Another similar instrument presented to J. H. Smith in Salem in the same year cost $480, more than half a year's salary for a skilled tradesman. … The summit in keyed-bugle design in the United States was reached by E. G. Wright and Graves & Co. of Boston in their exquisitely made and highly decorated presentation bugles.”