The keyed bugle was patented by Joseph Halliday in 1810 and was one of the earliest innovations for brass instruments that successfully enabled the player to play chromatically. A keyed bugle was brought to the United States from the British Isles in 1815 by Richard Willis, future bandleader of the West Point Band. The keyed bugle would go on to be an important instrument in the development of brass bands in the United States and continue to be used into the early 1860s. Early keyed bugle virtuosi include Richard Willis, Ned Kendall, and Francis Johnson.
This keyed bugle has 6 keys and is in the key of Bb. Keyed bugles came in C (with a Bb pigtail crook) and Eb and could have anywhere from 5 to 12 keys. Based on the research of Ralph T. Dudgeon, we estimate that this unmarked keyed bugle was made in France sometime in the 1830s or 1840s.
This Bb keyed bugle was acquired thanks to the generosity of Brian Drummond.