Following the death of Georg Ottensteiner in 1879, the firm continued to produce instruments that were virtually identical to the Ottensteiner clarinets with the “NFG/W. HESS” stamp superimposed over the original “G. OTTENSTEINER/MUNCHEN” stamp. Upon the death of Hess in 1880, Anton Osterried, who had previously trained with Ottensteiner in Paris, married Hess’ widow and continued the shop until the 1895 merger with Johann Gottlieb Gerlach’s workshop. The Osterreid-Gerlach partnership continued until Osterried’s death in 1912, and maintained the tradition of Baermann-System clarinets in both boxwood and grenadilla, even though the Oehler System was rapidly becoming the dominant system in Germany at the time.

Instrument Specifics:
Key: C (Pitch A437-440)
Material: Boxwood, Nickel-Silver
Key Mechanism: Baermann-System, missing LH F cross, Alt LH Eb (posts present, key lost)

Aside from a hairline crack in the bell that was filled and glued, this instrument has been well-preserved and required minimal work to restore to playable condition.  The keywork and springs are all original and the bore has no deviation from other instruments in terms of dimensions.  The body is made of boxwood, which has retained a remarkable degree of stability considering the amount of posts drilled and fitted to the wood and resists warping and shrinking.  The boxwood body adds a lyricism and a more agile sound than grenadilla instruments, though it should be noted that such a quality is one of the valued characteristics of the C clarinet from the late 19th century.