Mirecourt,  France
Colson

Metal, wood, gut strings, ebony, ivory
ca. 1850
Length: 28 in, Width: 11 in, Depth: 10.5 in
Strings – Lutes – Hurdy-Gurdy

Stamped: “Colson, Mirecourt.”

This lute hurdy-gurdy bears the original stamp “Colson, Mirecourt.” Its form is still the favorite and most widely used for Baroque, and French dance music.  The lute bodied hurdy-gurdies, also known as a “wheeled fiddle,” developed in the 18th century.  Their popularity was probably due to their powerful tone which makes it ideal for outdoor performance and dance accompaniment.  The large body, for example, gives the drones a large base. The instrument is played by turning a wheel with the crank located at the end.  This causes a rosined wheel to act like a violin bow as strings pass over.  Melodies are played on a keyboard that presses tangents (small wooden wedges) against the string to change the pitch.

The body of this lute form consists of 9 alternate ribs of rosewood and maple. The table is made of spruce pierced with 2 stylized ‘C’-holes on both sides of the tail piece and the resonator body is edged in ebony and ivory. The keyboard is also of ebony and ivory. The wheel cover, box lid, and tail piece are decorated with inlaid fruitwood. The peg box, with star and trellis decoration, terminates in a carved man’s head. The wheel handle, ebony pegs, and ivory string tuner on the tail piece are all original to the instrument.