I have just spent about half an hour unsuccessfully searching for a particular picture of one in use. It was from London, maybe in the 1730s, and depicted a band you'd go a long way to avoid. They were in front of a stage, maybe at a pleasure garden. The lineup included jew's harp, xylophone (or hammered dulcimer?) and bumfiddle. None of the instruments was anything as mainstream as a fiddle or flute.