The only function of the numbers was during the production. Serial numbers were never kept when Graslitz was part of Czechoslovakia. The delivery dates are much more accurate for firms that add the numbers to their instruments at the end of the production process. This means that a bassoon with a serial number from late 2005 might easily be completed or delivered in early 2006. Making a bassoon involves a few hundred manufacturing stages, any of which might delay the manufacturing process. One factory might number the instruments at the start of production, after which the parts will be kept together at all times, but the delivery dates can then start to diverge. There are various points during the production process when a number can be given to a bassoon. So these numbers should not be taken too literally. Our numbers have been provided by the factories themselves, but there’s always an overlap period, because the production period covers several months. We’ve hunted down the serial numbers for virtually every make of instrument.
