The bassoon is a double-reed air pipe instrument.
The bassoon developed from the bombardone of the 1500s, which was a double-reed air pipe instrument. It seems that Martin Hotteterre (died in 1712) developed the bassoon, but the bassoon, as it is known today, was developed by Carl Almenräder, who rearranged the key positionings. It had 17 keys.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FoxBassoon.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/Bassoon.html
The great bass bombard was almost 3 meters long and difficult to handle. The modern bassoon is about 2.5m long, but folded back on itself to a length of "only" 1.34m.
The reed of the bassoon is a cane reed, split into 3 or 4 pieces and tied together with thread. It needs to be bent to fit the mandrel - which is achieved with methods such as by heating the mandrel.
The material of which the bassoon is made is typically maple wood, although plastics are used for cheaper models, and in the late 1800s some were also made of metal.
Abstractly, the bassoon is a horn with a reed and valves.
http://www.hark.com/collections/vrrspgcdzf-bassoon