Description

Bicycle buglet – BUTLER

Back in the 1880s, bicycle bugles were the ultimate highwheel cycling accessory, acting as a musical GPS to keep large groups of riders moving in perfect formation. The club bugler rode right up front next to the captain, blasting out specific signals to coordinate everyone during tours and flashy public parades. Regular trumpets wouldn’t do. Cyclists needed true bugles, specifically compact “buglets” that wouldn’t get in the way while riding. London makers Henry Keat & Sons and Alfred Hayes shared the market, making brilliant little bugles with flattened bells that sat snugly against the body on a leather strap. Of course, playing a brass instrument while steering a massive highwheeler with one hand was not easy, so clubs only trusted experienced players who could ride safely without causing a massive pile-up. By memorising about a dozen adapted military calls like “Mount”, “Single File”, and “Halt”, these musical riders kept the whole club perfectly in sync.

We think this buglet was perhaps made by Henry Keat & Sons and stamped BUTLER. The company was led by George BUTLER (1795-1870) – the head of a family of instrument makers that were producing and dealing in brass, woodwind and many other instruments in Dublin and in London between 1826 and 1927. George started out in Dublin and was later in London. The company traded under the name ‘Butler’s Musical Instruments’ and its London base was at 29 Haymarket from 1865 to 1898.  His three sons worked with George until his death in 1870.

This lovely brass buglet is silver-plated and in nice condition, showing just a bit of honest wear to the plating and a few minor dents that tell its story. The mouthpiece is currently stuck, but with a gentle touch and a little care, it should loosen up beautifully.

Whether you are a collector of antique militaria, a vintage bicycle enthusiast or a member of The Wheelmen, it would make a spectacular display piece. You could also use it to clear slow-moving pedestrians out of the cycle lane!