This piccolo belonged to John Sivil, Jr. Trained as a boot and shoemaker, Sivil enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War and was commissioned as a fife major.

Firth, Pond, & Hall were a firm of New York music publishers, instrument manufacturers, and dealers. They made and dealt in woodwind and brass instruments, pianos, and guitars, and imported a wide variety of musical goods. The principal partners were John Firth, William Hall, and Sylvanus Billings Pond.