Yale University Collection of Musical Instruments

Based in Connecticut, U.S., Yale University Collection of Musical Instruments is an archive with a small group of Asian instruments that came to Yale with the Belle Skinner Collection. It has been grown through the addition of examples from the indigenous cultures of Asia, Africa and South America. This was also through the acquisition of the Robyna Neilson Ketchum Collection which greatly increased the collection’s holdings of idiophones from all over the world.

It was established in 1900, when Morris Steinert donated his collection to Yale which consisted chiefly of keyboard instruments. The Belle Skinner Collection was acquired in 1960 and the Emil Herrmann Collection in 1962. This established the Yale Collection as one of the world’s most important repositories of musical instruments. In 1961, the Collection was moved from its original location to its present location at the Richardsonian Romanesque building on 15 Hillhouse Avenue.

The collection is open to members of the public from Tuesday to Friday at 13h00pm until 16h00pm and on Sunday from 13h00pm until 17h00pm.