Vintage wooden clarinet

[Naked Dog]

I picked this clarinet up in Japan in 1980. It has no maker's mark on it at all, and I have been unable to locate images of anything somilar. The joints were waxed string and the pads were soft leather. The decrative rings at the joints were also held on with waxed string. I tried to attach a photo but 600 kb is just too small for my tablet or my phone or my camera to manage.

The mouthpiece is chipped and is made from the same wood as the other pieces. The keys are controlled by flat metal springs, and all are nailed in place. It does not have rings but the finger holes are lined with metal. The wood is a beautiful brown and black grain. I am hoping somebody can help me identify this thing. The fact that I got it in Japan is no indication of maker; a friend picked up a 1950 New York Bach Coronet there as well.

[Lisa]

http://www.picresize.com/
You can resize your picture here for free quite easily.  There’s a lot of great people here who can help you much better with a picture.
Lisa

[Silversorcerer]

If you have a Facebook account, you can upload to FB, then post a link here and that works.

I don't think many makers lined the holes with metal. It sounds like mid 19th C. Have you compared it with instruments in Musical Instruments Museums Online? I use that and a few other collections to compare antique models.

[DaveLeBlanc]

Alternatively, you can email the pictures to me at daveleblanc@clarinetpages.net and I'll post them for you.

[Naked Dog]

Consensus is (i.e., Dave said) a prototype with a key setup that he has never seen. One of a kind.

[bbrandha]

Pictures?

[Dibbs]

Unique key system without pictures?  Is this a kind of online turture for clarinet freaks?

[DaveLeBlanc]

Sorry guys, here are the pictures.

My bad.

[DaveLeBlanc]

The weirdest things I see here are obviously those extra keys. I can't even imagine what those keys would even do. They seem to be too consistently spaced to do anything.

[Windsong]

I have seen a clarinet like this before, and within the last year or two.  It certainly seems novelty-like Dave, and I agree that the sliver keys are almost too evenly placed, but who knows? 

The key-mounts are quite odd.  I think I would straighten the keywork, and repad it, and see what it is capable of, before attempting any cosmetic refurbishment.

[Airflyte]

Quite a unique clarinet!   Is NDog still around?

[DaveLeBlanc]

I have seen a clarinet like this before, and within the last year or two.  It certainly seems novelty-like Dave, and I agree that the sliver keys are almost too evenly placed, but who knows? 

The key-mounts are quite odd.  I think I would straighten the keywork, and repad it, and see what it is capable of, before attempting any cosmetic refurbishment.

Was there a maker listed? I've seen some crazy stuff but never one like this

[Windsong]

I cannot recall the alleged manufacturer, Dave--Sorry.

It had the same odd sliver keys, long spoon handle pinkys and those raised tower key supports, instead of posts.

I remember being startled at what it sold for, though I cannot recall the closing bid. 

Someone out there knows what these are, and from whence they originated. 

The keywork certainly follows no convention or system I have ever seen.  It's not folk art, per-se, but it appears to have been made in the non-scientific folk tradition.  It's probably old enough and uncommon enough to deserve careful preservation, and thoughtful restoration. 

[Silversorcerer]

Metal inserts in the tone holes? I think that narrows it down. I’m guessing 1850 to 1870. Let me do some reading...