Musical Instruments Historic, Rare and Unique. illustrated by a series of fifty plates in colours drawn by William Gibbs.

Hopkins, Alfred James

Published by Adam and Charles Black, 1888

About this Item

This limited edition volume is of 50 signed by the publishers Adam and Charles Black. 50 chromolithographic plates. The plates are representations of the rare instruments that were part of this noted exhibition, which included depictions of Asian instruments (considered quite exotic at the time), as well as illustrations of such distinguished instruments as the Hellier Stradivari violin and Queen Elizabeth's virginal. Large folio. Original publisher's half dark red morocco with gilt rules to edges, vellum boards with titling gilt within decorative oval border gilt, spine with raised bands with gilt-ruled compartments and titling gilt, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers. All pages and plates intact. VG original hinges, spine shaken with light intermittent cracking, all bands intact, some pages coming loose at head of spine. Leather scuffed/worn. Scattered foxing and small pencil notations in margins. Ships carefully packaged.Despite having very limited musical training Hipkins wrote many reviews of books on musical ethnology or musical antiquity for The Athenæum and The Musical Times. In 1891 he gave the Cantor lectures on Musical instruments, their construction and capabilities to the Royal Society of Arts. His chief energies were devoted to a study of the science of music and of the history and quality of musical instruments. He wrote profusely on musical history, contributing 134 articles to 'Grove's Dictionary', and several to the ninth edition of the 'Encyclopædia Britannica'.His major publications were 'Musical Instruments, Historic, Rare, and Unique' (1881), a standard work illustrated in colour by William Gibb; and 'Description and history of the pianoforte and of the older keyboard stringed instruments' (1896).Hipkins's performances on harpsichord and clavichord, notably of Bach's "Goldberg" Variations and Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue, exerted a strong influence on Arnold Dolmetsch and other early musicians and were highly praised by George Bernard Shaw.

Seller Inventory # 210727001

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Musical Instruments Historic, Rare and Unique. illustrated by a series of fifty plates in colours drawn by William Gibbs.
• Publisher: Adam and Charles Black
• Publication Date: 1888
• Language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition.
• Condition: Very Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Art & Photography