Keyed Bugles by James Keat and Graves & Co.

Graves & Co. was the first shop in the US to manufacture wind instruments in any quantity, starting with woodwinds, likely before 1820 in West Fairlee, Vermont. This earliest venture involved Samuel Graves Jr. and two of his brothers at the family farm while Samuel Sr. continued in the farm operation.  The successful young company took on new partners and purchased a building with water power in Winchester, New Hampshire in 1830, still making only woodwind instruments.

Some time between 1835 and 1837 saw the arrival in Winchester of an English brass instrument maker named James Keat.  The timing was excellent because brass instruments were quickly taking a larger role in the bands and orchestras of that time. Bands of all brass instruments were becoming fashionable with imported valve brass instruments easily available for the first time.  The Keat family, Samuel and his four sons, were well established in London as makers and James, the youngest, was able to bring much of this knowledge and technology of brass instrument making to this new factory.  In 1830, when James was just 16, his father died and the London shop was inherited by his oldest brother George and it seems likely that James worked there for his brother until leaving for the new world.  

He had arrived in New York city on May 7th, 1835, his 22nd birthday, and in 1838, he traveled back to London, returning to Boston on December 27 that year.  It seems unlikely that this was strictly a family visit, but rather to procure tools and supplies that he would need for his new shop in Winchester.  In “Graves & Company, Musical Instrument Makers”, Dr. Robert Eliason reports that, in 1837, Keat purchased one half of the second floor of the building that Graves occupied, indicating that he ran a separate business.  It is not known if Keat started making instruments in the US before the real estate purchase, but Eliason suggests the possibility. A letter reported by Dr. Eliason in the 1978 Journal of the American Musical Instrument Society, “Letters from Graves & Co. to Marsh & Chase” dated October 13, 1837, includes a list of instruments sold to Marsh & Chase by Graves. It includes one each, alto, tenor and bass trombones, a Bb keyed bugle with 8 keys and an Eb bugle with 7 keys. We also know that Graves was supplying brass instruments from other makers, presumably imported, but it seems likely that Keat was making at least the keyed bugles at that time. Another letter, dated November 7, 1838 indicated that production was delayed both by Samuel Graves being ill and also by James Keat being away.

There are only eight instruments known today to be made by Keat and all are engraved:  "J. KEAT / for Graves & Co. / Winchester N.H."   These include six keyed bugles in Bb (two pictured below), a keyed bugle in Eb and one trumpet in F with two Stoelzel valves. It is remarkable that a man in his early 20s was able to afford to set up a fully equipped shop and I would wonder if he had the help of his family's money in getting started.  To speculate further, perhaps other family members hoped go join him if the business flourished.    

The businesses of Graves and Keat seemed to flourish, but Keat died in 1845 at the age of 31.  He had sold the shop to Graves in 1843 and it is known that he suffered an extended illness.  The two bugles in Bb pictured above both appear to be early examples of Keat’s work, most likely made before 1840. The first is from Mark Elrod's collection, the second bugle, belonging to Ron Berndt, has key placements within 1/8”, except the 7th, which is 3/16” further from the bell than in the Elrod bugle. Both exhibit the possibility that Keat had some difficulty in bending the bells. In most keyed bugles, there appears to be an ideal in that the 6th key chimney is half the way through the bend, but not in these two. The Elrod bugle is 3/4” narrower than the Berndt bugle, but more than 1/4” longer. The Graves bugle in the photos below, while still very early in production after Keat, is shorter yet by almost 1/2”, putting the 6th key almost centered in the bell curve. Several of the keys, while still within 5/8”, diverge a bit more in placement, indicating some work in improving intonation and/or tone quality. Another interesting difference is that the Graves & Co. bugle is made from thinner copper, making it more than 5 ounces, or about 18% lighter.

Preserved in the Cheshire County, New Hampshire archives is the complete probate court records of James Keat's estate that were completed in January of 1846. These indicate that Keat had died without a will and with numerous debts that were incurred during his illness, including $246.24 to Graves & Co.  Included in that amount was $107.76 that was paid by Graves for nursing care during Keat's illness and when the estate was settled, they received only $88.37 along with a "lot of small tools" valued at $2.

There is no indication that he owed anything to his own family, indeed, there was a promissory note written by his brother William in the amount of $100, although this was not considered of value in the estate inventory.   We can only guess that this might have been sent in hopes that James could borrow against it and/or an investment into the business.

Keat's widow, Frances, was allowed to choose from the inventoried estate, items with a total value of $100 plus a gun valued at $8.  This inventory is the real treasure of these records and I include it here in the two images above.  As would be expected, it includes mostly household items, but also supplies, tools and equipment that he had used in making brass instruments for Graves & Co.  Of the $212.09 in value, the business related items totaled $158.68.  The most valuable tool listed at $20 was a draw bench and fixtures, but he also had owned both a turning lathe and brush lathe (presumably a polishing lathe), a hammering machine, anvil, vices and a fairly impressive list of small tools.  

Frances, who was under 25 years old at the time, made interesting choices from the inventory to make up her $100 value.  Most items were necessary household needs and the 42 books that they had owned, but she paid off promissory notes in the amount of $23.45, chose two lots of small tools and files ($5) and the draw bench and fixtures.  The draw bench was the most highly valued item in the estate, along with a wagon, also $20.  This was obviously of great value to James Keat's work and makes me wonder what Frances' plans were.  

The draw bench would have been used for drawing tubing to size with a steel ring on a steel rod, after forming from sheet brass and brazing the seam.  This drawn tubing would have been necessary for making valve instruments and there is only one known that is signed with Keat's name.  This is an F trumpet with two Stoelzel valves in the Utley collection, but he likely had also started making instruments with double piston valves such as post horns and trombacellos that are extant and signed by Graves.  Graves was advertising the availability of post horns in a newspaper ad in 1842, a year before purchasing the business from Keat.

Perhaps Frances planned on selling this machine to Graves & Co. at some future date, but there is another possibility.  As James became unable to work due to his illness, it would make sense that Frances would have pitched in as she could, learning to make some parts.  It is possible that she continued to manufacture tubing to sell to Graves and/or the Boston brass instrument makers, although there is no mention of the tools and supplies that she would have needed to braze the seams in the tubing.  I have been unable to find any census or other listings for Frances Keat, although it would not be surprising that a young woman would have re-married fairly quickly. 

I originally believed that the couple were childless, but a 1905 listing of births in New Hampshire list three nameless boys born to James Keat (ethnicity Canadian) in Winchester in 1841, 1842 and 1844.  A fourth boy Keat is born there to William Keat (also listed as Canadian) four months after James' death in 1845. It is likely that these are unrelated to James Keat musical instrument maker. James’ brother William continued working as a musical instrument maker in London and was not known to have visited the US.

The Bb keyed bugle in the next four photos contains the design features of those built by Keat and was likely built very shortly after he had sold his shop to Graves.  This was a time that the soprano bugle in Eb was becoming the solo voice in American bands and Graves was quick to supply these.  Eb keyed bugles made by Grave's contemporaries in Boston, Henry Sibley by 1836 and E.G. Wright by about 1841, which are generally considered to be the finest and most advanced keyed bugles, but most surviving keyed bugles made in the US are Graves Eb bugles made before the shop was moved to Boston in 1850 and the earlier Bb like this one are quite rare.

It is remarkably well preserved and some of the marks from scrapers, files and marking tools are still visible on its surface.  The circular crook appears to be original to this bugle, being the same design as others found with Graves and Keat bugles. The bit and mouthpiece may not be original to the instrument but were found with it and likely used with it originally.  It is 17 1/2" long with crook removed and the bell rim diameter measures 5 13/16".

The last image below is an ad taken out in the Boston Morning Post in May and June of 1842, by Graves & Co, indicating that their instruments were available from Joseph L. Bates in Boston.   It is interesting to confirm that Graves was making Eb keyed bugles by that time, as well as trombones and post horns.  The larger valve instruments, trombacellos, are not yet mentioned.   There is no mention of Keat and there is no way of knowing his status at this time.  Hopefully, more data can be found in the future. It is now known that James Keat made at least one Eb keyed bugle before selling to Graves.

Graves history from Robert E. Eliason, Graves & Company Musical Instrument Makers, Henry Ford Museum, 1975.  Most of the Keat history is from my more recent research and "Trumpets and Other High Brass" by Sabine Klaus.