Technical Drawings of Musical Instruments in Public Collections of the World

The list of published technical drawings of musical instruments in public collections was compiled by Haags Gemeentemuseum and MMF Publications as part of a project to reproduce drawings on microfiche. It was last updated in 2000.

Introduction

This is a list of drawings published by the 26 museums and collections which have participated in the project to microfilm technical drawings of musical instruments, organised by Hague Gemeentemuseum, Netherlands, with the co-operation of CIMCIM. This list, prepared by Dr Rob van Acht of the Hague Gemeentemuseum, includes the drawings now available on microfiche. The drawings are all also available in their original format directly from the participating museums, many of which also have further drawings on sale.
The criteria for inclusion of a drawing have been (1) the drawing is published and available for sale, (2) the instrument is in the collection and can be studied, and (3) the museum is willing to allow its drawings to be reproduced on fiches as part of this project.
This list includes the 664 drawings made available on microfiche by MMF Publications in the original set (1995) and in the supplement (2000).

Project Description

by Dr Rob van Acht, Curator of Musical Instruments, Haags Gemeentemuseum
Technical drawings of musical instruments are not only useful to builders but also to musicians, collectors of musical instruments and organologists. The demand for drawings increases steadily from all these quarters. The purpose of the present microfiche publication is to bring together in one place drawings from various instrument collections so that they can be compared and studied. In all, twenty-five major collections and museums in Europe and the U.S.A. gave permission for the use of construction drawings and sheets, plans, etc. that they have made of the musical instruments they hold. The purpose for which the technical drawings listed here were made varies, but they usually include thorough and detailed information about important aspects of the instruments, such as their technical construction, the materials used to build them and their decoration. Also included in the information given is the name of the maker as it appears on each instrument. The name on the instrument is not necessarily the name of the original maker. The name may be unauthentic or the name of a maker who rebuilt or modified the instrument. The editor accepts no responsibility for the attribution of any of the instruments to particular makers, whether they are included in the text or on the instruments. Some of the larger collections or museums have only a limited number of drawings, while others have already produced a great many. Almost all the drawings are full size. The names of the persons who measured and/or drew the instruments are indicated by the words “drawn by” between brackets – [drawn by]. The arbitrary decision has been made to distinguish between “transverse flutes” and “traversos”. Transverse flutes, for the purpose of this guide, are so called if they have more than one key. The word “traverso” is reserved for one keyed flutes. Harpsichords are called “double manual” when they are not single manual. Fretted and unfretted clavichords are distinguished by describing the fretted ones with the word “fretted”. Two or more entries may occur for one single instrument. This indicates that there are two or more drawings of the same instrument. The producer of these microfiches, MMF Publications and the Haags Gemeentemuseum, accept no responsibility for the authenticity of any of the instruments drawn, or for the accuracy of the drawings that have been made.

 

Acknowledgments

The Haags Gemeentemuseum and MMF Publications wish to acknowledge with thanks the cooperation of the collections and museums listed above. Without their willingness to help and their kind permission to reproduce their drawings, this international publication project would not have been possible.

 

Rights and Permissions

All rights to the drawings contained in the present microfiche collection are reserved to the relevant participating institution. The provenance of each drawing is given in this guide and on the microfiche headers. Reproduction of the microfiches is prohibited. Making photocopies of the drawings from the microfiches or reproduction of the drawings in publications of any sort are prohibited without the express written permission of the relevant institution.

Information on price and availability of individual drawings: from the participating collections.

 

Participating Collections

Drawings can be purchased only from the museums and collections which produce them.

Ruckers Genootschap v.z.w., Vleeshouwersstraat 38-40, B-2000 ANTWERP, Belgium

Muziekinstrumentenverzameling Vleeshuis, Vleeshouwersstraat 38-40, B-2000 ANTWERP, Belgium

University of California at Berkeley, Music Department, Morrison Hall, BERKELEY, CA 94720, U.S.A.

Staatliches Institut für Musikforschung, Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Musikinstrumentenmuseum, Tiergartenstrasse 1, D-10785 BERLIN, Germany

Museo Civico Medievale, Via de Musei 8, BOLOGNA, Italy

Museum of Fine Arts, Musical Instruments Collection, 465 Huntington Ave., BOSTON, MA 02115, U.S.A.

Musée des Instruments de Musique, 1 rue Villa Hermosa, B-1000 BRUSSELS, Belgium

John Barnes Collection, c/o Edinburgh University Collection of Historic Musical Instruments, St Cecilia’s Hall Museum of Instruments, Niddry Street, EDINBURGH, EH1 1NQ, U.K.

Edinburgh University Collection of Historic Musical Instruments, Reid Concert Hall Museum of Instruments, Bristo Square, EDINBURGH, EH8 9AG, U.K.

Edinburgh University Collection of Historic Musical Instruments, St Cecilia’s Hall Museum of Instruments, Niddry Street, EDINBURGH, EH1 1NQ, U.K.

Haags Gemeentemuseum, Stadhouderslaan 41, Postbus 72, 2501 CB THE HAGUE, The Netherlands

Universität Leipzig, Musikinstrumenten-Museum, Täubchenweg 2c, D-04103 LEIPZIG, Germany

Museum of Instruments, The Royal College of Music, Prince Consort Road, South Kensington, LONDON, SW7 2BS, U.K.

Victoria & Albert Museum, Musical Instruments, South Kensington, LONDON, SW7 2RL, U.K.

Yale University, Collection of Musical Instruments, 15 Hillhouse Avenue, NEW HAVEN, CT 06520, U.S.A.

New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, Collection of Musical Instruments, 1000 Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street, NEW YORK, NY 10028, U.S.A.

Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Musikabteilung, Kartäusergasse 12, D-90402 NÜNBERG, Germany

University of Oxford, Faculty of Music, The Bate Collection of Instruments, St. Aldate’s, OXFORD, OX1 1DB, U.K.

Ashmolean Museum Oxford, Hill Collection of Musical Instruments, Beaumont Street, OXFORD, OX1 2PH, U.K.

Musée de la Musique, 221, avenue Jean-Jaurès F-75019 PARIS, France

Museum Carolino Augusteum, Museumsplatz 6, A-5020 SALZBURG, Austria

The Stockholm Music Museum, Sybillegatan 2, S-10326 STOCKHOLM, Sweden

Ringve Musikhistorisk Museum, Lade Allé 60, N-7441 TRONDHEIM, Norway

The National Music Museum (formerly Shrine to Music Museum), University of South Dakota, 414 East Clark Street, VERMILLION, SD 57069-2390, U.S.A.

Kunsthistorisches Museum, Sammlung Alter Musikinstrumente, Neue Burg, A-1010 VIENNA, Austria

National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Division of Musical Instruments, 14th St. and Constitution Ave., WASHINGTON, DC 20560, U.S.A.

 

Updated on Nov. 2017