Klarinet Archive - Posting 000236.txt from 2000/03

From: LeliaLoban@-----.com
Subj: [kl] Early Clarinets
Date: Tue, 7 Mar 2000 10:28:07 -0500

Topper <leo_g@-----.com> wrote,
>Having seen a boxwood clarinet on ebay, perhaps from the `1820's' I have
noted that they are not seen so often and quite possibly rare.>

Replicas are considerably less rare than antiques. I see replicas
occasionally, in antiques shops. My husband, an amateur woodworker, has
pointed out to me some telltale signs of manufacture with modern power tools
-- and many of the instruments made entirely with hand tools are replicas,
too.

If someone advertised a boxwood clarinet as "possibly" or "perhaps" from the
early 19th century, I wouldn't touch that sight-unseen instrument with a Pad
Saver unless either it sold for a very low price or that dealer had an
excellent reputation and explained convincingly *why* he or she thought the
clarinet might be that old. Is there provenance (documented history of
ownership)? I would require that the contract give the buyer the right to
examine the clarinet and return it to the seller for a refund, because on a
handmade, wooden instrument, the distinguishing points between a genuine
antique, a high-quality replica and a low-end fake may not show clearly in a
photo on a computer screen. If I paid serious money, I would want an
independent expert (such as the curator of a museum exhibit of old
instruments) to vet that clarinet for me before the sale became final.

The quality of the replicas varies so greatly, from bub-fudge amateur
attempts to fine, professional- quality instruments, that it's impossible to
generalize about what they're worth. Similarly, a genuine antique may be a
wreck or a gem. It may be in original condition; it may be damaged in ways
that may or may not show up on the screen; it may have been modified and
mutilated; it may have been beautifully and appropriately restored.

I'm especially wary of statements such as, "perhaps from the 1820s." In my
husband's and my decades of experience with antiques (mostly smalls, glass,
books, rugs and furniture), this type of wording can mean three things. It
can mean that the dealer is scrupulously honest and being very cautious. It
can also mean that the dealer is taking an optimistic guess based on poor
quality information. However, IMHO, this type of enticing but not legally
binding language usually means that a clever dealer suspects (or even knows
perfectly well) that the item was made yesterday, but he or she feigns
innocent ignorance, in the hope of finding a gullible, optimistic buyer.

Bottom line: Unless I'm dealing with someone I know, or someone whose
reputation I have excellent reason to trust (such as Sotheby's), I never buy
antiques or "vintage" items sight unseen and I never buy merch of a type that
I don't understand -- *unless* these items are inexpensive enough so that I
won't lose more money than I can afford if (when!) I misjudge them.

Lelia

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