Richardson Keyed Bugle in Eb  c.1845

The Keyed Bugle the first  trumpet-like wind instrument which could play chromatic scales  was introduced in Europe and Great Britain Early in the 1820's.  They quickly replaced natural trumpets and cornettos and sounded much like modern cornets.  It is in the family of flugelhorns due to the continuous conical taper throughout its length.  Keyed Bugles were in use up through the 1860's. They were invariably made of copper with brass keys and trim, and had either eight, nine , or later, 12 keys. 

This Bugle has 9 Keys and is in the key of Eb and is marked Richardson & Co,  Rochester N.Y.  It is however, an exact copy of a Graves Keyed Bugle.  Richardson was in business with Samuel Graves and Luther Buzzell from 1831-39 in Winchester NH. He left Graves to set up shop  in Rochester making instruments sometime between 1839-46.  Buzzell was also in Rochester, in partnership with Gove, and are known for a copper/brass upright vienna valve Eb alto. Mark Elrod thinks that Samuel W. Richardson actually made this bugle.

By 1851 Richardson was known to be in the  upholstery business and by 1859 he was foreman of Burr's Perfumery Factory. By 1866 he had become a Patent Leg Maker which was  a booming business after the US Civil War...

Finding an original case for a bugle is especially rare. This one is walnut - made from a siingle log and hollowed out to fit the horn.  I had the original lock repaired and kept the original velvet lining as intact as possible. Please scroll all the way down to see the case.

In terms of provanance, The name Moffat is scratched  just above the Garland.  The bugle was from the Wm M. Benefield (b. 1865) family of Perrysville Indiana and was passed down to Anna Strange of Terre Haute Indiana who was the great granddaughter of Wm Benefield.