Instrument Gallery

A Garden Guide - Extracting a Weed from a Lawn

Illustration by William Heath Robinson (1872-1944) showing a typically convoluted method of weeding a garden lawn. A man is hosted by ropes supported by a teepee configuration of poles worked by onlookers. He holds a corkscrew type instrument in his hand, in order to extract a single weed. Robinson was a regular contributor to the Sketch, the Bystander and other ILN titles during his lifetime. His weekly drawings featuring mind-boggling contraptions and designs were immensely popular. Please note: Credit must appear as Courtesy of the estate of Mrs J.C.Robinson/Pollinger Ltd/ILN/Mary Evan"

© Courtesy of the estate of Mrs J.C.Robinson/Pollinger Ltd/ILN/Mary Evans Picture Library

Senegal - Griot playing a Kora

Senegal - seated Griot playing a Kora, a 21-stringed harp lute that originated in the Gambia River valley with the Mandinko but is one of the most popular instruments in Senegal. Griots from most Mande groups in Senegal, Gambia, Mali, Guinea, and Guinea Bissau play the kora, which has featured on a number of western recordings in recent years. A Griot is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet and/or musician. The griot is a repository of oral tradition, and is also often seen as something of a societal leader due to his traditional position as an adviser to royal personages. Date: circa 1910s

© Mary Evans / Grenville Collins Postcard Collection

Horn Lesson in a Wine Cellar

A group of gentlemen and a small boy congregate in a wine cellar to practice playing the horn whilst enjoying a drink or two (non-alcoholic for the small boy of course)

© Mary Evans Picture Library

1890s, Alcoholic, Cellar, Congregate, Drink, Enjoying, France, French, Gentlemen, Group, Historical, History, Horn, Instrument, Instruments, Learn, Learning, Lesson, Muscial, Music, Play, Playing, Practice, Small, Wine