Kugler Collection of Musical Instruments
In 1984, William and Ida Kugler gave their huge collection of instruments to The Schubert Club. Their wide-ranging collecting impulse is reflected in the diversity of the instruments, which include strings, winds, and percussion from around the world. There are music boxes, early phonographs, an extensive collection of instruments from India, brass instruments dating back to the Civil War, African and Asian drums, and home-made instruments from 20th-century America. The Schubert Club has added to the collection over the years,most notably with a complete set of gamelan instruments from Java.
Items from the Kugler Collection are on display in the lower level gallery and the 2nd floor gallery as well as at the Saint Paul Public Library and the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts.
William and Ida Kugler |
From the first Chinese instrument Bill Kugler picked up in Kemmer, Wyoming while touring with his dance band in 1932, to the impressive collection of Indian vinas and sitars that he bought in the 1970s, Bill Kugler collected instruments for more than half a century. |
Instruments in the warehouse are available for display or research |
This circular cornet was made by Isaac Fiske of Boston in the mid-1800s. |
Various brass and woodwind items from The Kugler Collection were put on display in Northfield, Minnesota in July 2006 as part of the Vintage Brass Festival.
| The collection includes many instruments by Arthur Ferris of Flanders, New Jersey, shown below with his wife Bertha. |
 Arthur Ferris and wife, Bertha |
One of Ferris's instruments, combining features of both violin and harp. In addition to careful consideration of the wood used, Ferris wrote minutely all over the internal back and belly of his instruments. |
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