The Wary Bassoonist and Elusive Oboist

 

Some species of instrumentalists
are hard to spot in the wild
as they are few in number
and very wary of photographers.

 

 

Others are often mistaken
for players of more common instruments
and it requires careful scrutiny
to discern their unique features
and confirm an identification.

 

 

 

 

Though their natural habitat covers a broad range,
in some regions they are more difficult to find.
It helps that sometimes these rare creatures
mix in with flocks of other species
 which makes it easier to observe
their distinctive appearance and unusual habits.

Today I present three antique portraits
of singular English musicians
of the double reed variety,
two male bassoonists
and one female oboist.

 

 

 

 

My first portrait is a gentleman dressed in a formal suit and playing a bassoon. His instrument gives the impression that he is a tall man, but since a bassoon is 4 feet 5 inches (1.34m) long when folded up, [8 feet, 4 inches (2.54m) when unfolded], I calculate that his height is actually about 5 feet, 1 inch (1.55m) which a stature not much more that his instrument. What I especially like about this bassoonist's photo is that  from the tight expression of his mouth I'm pretty sure he was actually blowing a note when the photo was taken. Because he wears a three-piece suit and not a bandsman's uniform I think he is a member of an orchestra. Is he a professional or amateur musician? That's hard to say, though he looks to be a capable musician. After searching newspaper accounts for a bassoonist in the vicinity of  Hereford, I was unable to find anyone who deserved mention, but this is not surprising since bassoonist rarely get the spotlight.

His bassoon lacks the complex keywork of a modern bassoon so I believe it is a transitional design that evolved from the earlier classical era instrument which only had a few keys. Bassoons are made of hard maple with a conical bore that is folded at the bottom. Because of its length as a bass woodwind instrument the tone holes are farther apart than on a short instruments like an oboe or clarinet. Keys allow a player's fingers to cover a wider spread of holes than they might otherwise be unable to reach. 

This sepia-tone print is mounted on a carte de visite card, 4½ x 2½ inches (11.4 x 6.3 cm) with a plain cream color matte and square corners.  It's a style that comes from the early years of CdVs  so I believe this musician had his photo taken around 1865. The photographer's logo is stamped on the back: Mr. & Mrs. Bustin, Photographers, Hereford printed around an illustration of an artist's palette and brushes. 

 

 

 

 

After research I determined that this was the studio of Richard Britton Bustin and his wife Mary Ann (aka Marian or Marion) Warren Bustin. According to census records, Richard was born in Barnstaple, Devon in 1836 and his wife Mary was born in London in 1837. They settled in Hereford where in the 1861 census Richard's occupation was as Master of a School for Artists. Intriguingly his wife also had an occupation listed as Photographer. 

In the 1871 census, Marian Bustin, age 37, and her son, Richard S. Bustin, age 18, were both  recorded as photographers, though Marian/Mary's husband, Richard Bustin Sr., is absent from this census. He returned in 1881 and now Richard B. Bustin  and Marion Bustin were respectively: Art Master/Teacher and Artist. By the time of this census the Bustins were parents of 13 children. I found references to later photos marked "Richard Bustin & Son" so I feel sure my bassoonist dates from 1860 to 1869 before Richard Bustin Jr. became a partner, with 1863-65 more likely because of the simple card mount.  

* * *

The next musician is a woman with an oboe, pictured on a larger cabinet card mount. She is seated at an ornately carved desk or side table and dressed in a beautifully embroidered blouse with huge leg-of-mutton sleeves (also known in French as the gigot sleeve) Her instrument is neatly held upright as if she is attentively listening to a conductor's instruction. She appears to be in her 20s and has rings on both hands, so I assume she is married. 

An oboe is typically made from Grenadilla, also known as African blackwood, which is the same timber used to make clarinets. The black color of both instruments is the reason photos of oboes are regularly mistaken for clarinet. However the instruments are very different. The standard B-flat clarinet is slightly longer, has a cylindrical bore with a flared bell, and most noticeable, has a single-reed at the top. An oboe is made in the key of C with a conical bore that begins with a very narrow tube at the top where a double-reed is mounted and then gradually widens to a small round bulb at the bottom. The modern oboe, which I think is pictured here, has 45 key mechanisms. 

In the 19th century some bands might include a single oboe, or sometimes two, to play melodies mainly from operatic repertoire, but during this era, all-female wind bands, unlike in America and Germany, were very rare in Britain, so I believe it more likely that she was a member of a women's orchestra. 

The photographer was A. Hamilton & Sons of Paul SI, Kingsdown, Bristol in Gloucestershire, a short distance south of Hereford across the River Severn. The photo has no notes or imprint on the back, but a list of historical Bristol photographers dates Allan Hamilton & Son from 1896 to 1910. 

 * * *

 

My third portrait is another CdV photo and it shows a young bassoonist dressed in a military bandsman's uniform. His short tunic has traditional swallow-tail epaulets on his shoulders which was a uniform feature used by military bands of many European countries. He looks young with a whisp of a light color mustache, around age 20 or even 18.

Since this photo was purchased from a British dealer, I'm fairly confident that he is a British bandsman, though there are not enough clues to identify his unit. The backdrop is crude drapery or a blanket and I think he is seated outdoors on a grass lawn. I imagine this is the work of an enterprising photographer who set up a simple stage near a park bandstand to take individual photos of bandsmen after a concert. 

 

There is nothing on the back of the photo but the photographer left an embossed mark, E. SEARS, on the front lower left corner, which I believe is an English surname. However it is too common a name to get a better fix on the location. This CdV card has rounded corners and a line border which was used from 1870s onwards. In America the CdV format stopped being used in the early 1890s but in Britain it was still popular up to the 1900s. My guess it that he dates from roughly 1885 to 1900.

 

It takes great patience and perseverance

to track down sightings of these

these curious instrumentalists.

Compared to other species of the woodwind family

like flutists, clarinetists, and even hybrids like saxophonists,

the historical photographic evidence

for bassoonists and oboes is very slim.
But once you know how to recognize them
it is very rewarding to capture
even a glimpse of one.

Both the bassoon and the oboe

have a unique sound

which adds a beautiful color

to the music of bands and orchestras.

If only we could hear it in these photographs.

 

 

 

 

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday

where everyone knows 
you always need to keep
your eye on the ball.