Top 10: Curious & Obscure at the Royal College of Music Museum

Pochette - maker unknown, France, late 17th or 18th century

The Royal College of Music Museum houses a large collection of pochettes, or pocket violins. They were favoured by dance masters and travelling musicians from the 16th to 18th centuries because of their small size. One of our pochettes has a little secret…

With an expandable fan tucked away inside, this pochette wasn’t just easy to carry, but kept its players cool as well!

Glass harmonica - maker unkown, Germany, early 19th century

This odd looking instrument is a glass harmonica, made from twenty-five Venetian glass bowls mounted on an axle inside a wooden case.

Invented by American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, these instruments became popular in the second half of the eighteenth century. By the mid-nineteenth century they had fallen out of favour, largely due its undeserved reputation for driving its players to madness, disorientation, and even death.

Harp-Lute - Edward Light, London, 1816

Combining elements inspired by a harp and a lute, this 1816 instrument is an early hybrid. It was originally invented in 1795 by British maker Edward Light.

Dragonetti's Doll - maker unknown, late 18th or early 19th century

Domenico Dragonetti was a double bass virtuoso based in London from 1794 until his death in 1846. Dragonetti was known as an eccentric and collector of paintings, instruments, engravings and dolls.

This particular doll was his favourite and, according to famous singer Henry Phillips, the virtuoso called her his ‘wife.’ She would occasionally travel with him to music festivals and is said to have sat in the front row at many of his concerts.

Hand stretching apparatus - Richard James Pitcher, 1915

This wooden hand stretching apparatus is more sinister than it appears. It was intended to help musicians strengthen their fingers in order to improve their technique.

The musician would place a finger in the grooves on either side of the gap in order to increase their span. However, this often had unintended side effects…

Composer and pianist Robert Schumann created his own hand stretching device from a used cigar box, which stretch one finger at a time backwards while allowing the other fingers to move. The practice exacerbated an already weak right hand, leading to permanent damage and effectively ending his piano performance career.

Orphica - maker unknown, Vienna, c. 1805

Long before the days of electronic keyboards and keytars, people were working to solve the issue of piano portability.

The Viennese solution was the orphica – a three octave portable miniature keyboard in horizontal harp form that could be worn on a shoulder strap. The instrument never took off despite a few short pieces being written for it by Ludwig van Beethoven.

Copy of a cast of Chopin's hand - Jean-Baptist Auguste Clésinger, Paris

When Frédéric Chopin died in 1849, sculptor Jean Baptiste Auguste Clésinger was called upon to create a cast of the Polish composer’s left hand and a death mask.

Hands are a common subject of fascination when it comes to celebrating great artists because of the belief that there must be something exceptional about the tools of great musicians.

Walking stick instruments - Flutes by maker unknown, late 18th or early 19th century. Trumpet by J. Köhler, London, c. 1840

These canes are not just a fashionable gentleman’s accessory, but portable instruments! The RCM Museum holds two walking-stick flutes as well as a walking-stick trumpet with detachable bell and mouthpiece.

Here is a clip of this very walking-stick trumpet being played!

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning a bit about the weird and wonderful things in the Royal College of Music Museum collection. To see more amazing artefacts and artwork, visit our website www.rcm.ac.uk/museum