1854, C. Wentworth Dilke, Special Report of Mr. Dilke, page #7:
It consisted of a fine body of men, dressed in a semi‐military style,— viz., dark‐blue frock‐coat and trousers, patent leather shoulder and body‐belt, with pocket in the latter for bâton, and oil‐skin cap lined with leather.
The bâton itself is of altered form, and less massive than of old, but is equally formidable, and is made of the tough and closely‐grained cocus wood.
1902, John Alexander Fuller‐Maitland, The Age of Bach and Handel, The Clarendon Press; Chapter XIII, pages 308–309:
We learn that the instruments were of bad quality, that the conductor was placed with his instruments behind him instead of in front, that it was customary to make a loud tapping with the bâton throughout the performance, that the harmonies are badly filled up, that the number of double‐basses relatively to the violoncellos was too small, and that the actor dominated the orchestra too much, instead of the orchestra dominating the actor and determining the time of the measure.
