From the Archives: The Distin Family

A musical family of five brothers and a sister.

The Distin Family.  Lithograph by Charles Joseph Hullmandel (1789-1850) published by I. Willis & Co.; [ca 1840] Donated by John Solomon; “presented by Mr Long T. Col L. to Mr. J. Solomon”.

Portrait of John Distin (1794-1863), his four sons George (1818-1848), Henry John (1819-1903), William Alfred (d.1884) and Theodore (1823-1893), with John’s wife Ann Matilda Distin (née Loder) (1790-1848). The image shows them with slide trumpet, trombone and three French horns, with Ann seated at piano behind them. The Distin males had formed a brass quintet in 1835 in Edinburgh and on their return to London in 1837 became a touring ensemble with Ann. It is one of the earliest known images of the group as later on a cornopean was added and, in 1844, during a European tour they met Adolphe Sax the inventor of the saxhorn, the instrument which the Distins popularised in Britain. 

Probably as a result of concert giving and promotion, the fame of the new instrument, their popular arrangements and their “celebrity status” the Distins were active in the trade of musical instruments and printed music as Distin & Sons at 31 Cranbourn Street, Leicester Square. The second son, Henry, took over the business in 1849, moving to 9 Great Newport Street in 1859 expanding into additional premises at nos 10 and 11 in 1861 and 1866. The business was purchased by Boosey & Co. in 1868 and continued to use the name of Distin & Co until 1874. 

Ann Matilda Distin was the daughter of the Bath violinist John Loder (1757-1795) and Bathsheba Wansey Loder (née Cantelo, 1763-1845) of the Cantelo family. 

In 2021, The Prince Regent’s Band, featuring RSM Members Richard Thomas, Katie Hodges and Anneke Scott, performed a concert highlighting the work of the Distin family with American compositions for the saxhorns that the Distins introduced and popularised. Watch below.