The Chicago-based Lyon and Healy company is today best known for its harp production, but in the early 1890s they joined the growing trend of instrument companies importing European brass instruments, Lyon and Healy importing many instruments from Paris and other parts of Europe. In 1896, they started producing instruments themselves, with their “Own Make” line of instruments. Production ramped up in 1899 after the introduction of the “Duplex” cornet, the company having made less than 100 “Own Make” instruments before its introduction. Like early “Duplex” cornets, this uses removable leadpipe shanks, with an extra shank to put it into A. It appears that in 1904 this was phased out in favor of a fixed-length leadpipe, by which time Lyon and Healy’s engravings had also become far more ornate, spreading from the bell to virtually the entire instrument. Interestingly, at this point the serial number also appears to be stamped onto the bell, though by 1904 this was hand-engraved instead.
This instrument is in quite good condition for its age, with no missing parts except possibly the lyre, and a wonderful condition case interior. The original case handle is missing, but the leather on a 1904 Duplex in our collection is in such a state that such a handle is basically unusable. The seller says that it plays wonderfully, especially with the included mouthpiece, and that it has good valve compression.
More photos under the cut.
Description: One of my favourite antique cornets I've come across, this little beauty has a wonderful, full voice. It is pitched in modern Low Pitch, and comes with a Bb and an A lead pipe bit, and additional tuning slide for High Pitch.
The cornet is in excellent condition, with good valve compression, and wonderful, full voice. The instrument features some fine finishing details not found on later models. I have tried to take many closeup photographs to show the intricate craftsmanship. It comes as well with a very good Eclipse mouthpiece, this plays very well I must stress, and I almost pulled it from the kit to keep. Everything is nestled in the original case, which is in good condition.
When we think about historical brass instruments, we often don’t think about the societies which they are born into. This Wood & Ivy cornopean, restored by Robb Stewart, was built in London between 1837 and 1847, and sold in Manchester. In this era of English history, the first Industrial Revolution had begun, leading to the development of the modern middle class. Though I’m uncertain of the exact costs of an instrument such as this when it was new, a Boosey cornopean built in 1855 sold for £2602 in modern currency, meaning it was possible for a member of the middle class in Manchester to have such an instrument in their home. However, I recently read Friedrich Engels’ “Industrial Manchester,” detailing the conditions the working class of Manchester, in which Engels first notes that the city was sharply divided, designed in a way “that a person may live in it for years, and go in and out daily without coming into contact with a working-people's quarter or even with workers, that is, so long as he confines himself to his business or to pleasure walks.”
Within the working class slums of the town, the living conditions were horrific. Streets were filled with excrement, and the Irk stream ran coal-black from pollution, in dry weather “checked every few paces by high weirs, behind which slime and refuse accumulate[d] and rot[ted] in thick masses,” its banks covered with “the piles of debris, the refuse, filth, and offal from the courts.” Even more disheartening were the houses of the slums, where “each house [was] packed close behind its neighbour and a piece of each [was] visible, all black, smoky, crumbling, ancient, with broken panes and window frames,” all against the backdrop of “old barrack-like factory buildings.” Deeper in the slums, the conditions are worse, with many living in 30 square foot “one-storied, one-roomed huts, in most of which there is no artificial floor; kitchen, living and sleeping-room all in one,” some crammed with miserable bedsteads and a furnace, and yet others without doors and barren but still inhabited.
When one considers these two descriptions as to separate realities, they make sense, but the juxtaposition of these two within the same city is hard to reconcile. The fact that such a beautifully constructed instrument, and the lifestyle that it represents, could exist in the same world as a barren one-room hut filled with malnourished factory workers is, frankly, terrifying.
Another day, another low F orchestral trumpet from g.mu6. This is a rotary trumpet much in the same vein as the Bohland & Fuchs that was detailed here several months ago (and has since become part of our collection). This is another Czechoslovakian instrument, but this time built by Huttl in Šluknov. Unfortunately, while there is a great deal known about A.K. Huttl and the Huttl company in general, I have only seen one or two other instruments attributed to M.J. Huttl [1] (including another Eb or F-Eb trumpet of a completely different wrap), and proper background information on them is sorely lacking. As a result, dating this instrument is somewhat difficult. Like with many Czechoslovakian companies of this period, the best indicator is the “i/B” on the maker’s plate, which I take to mean “in Bohemia”, placing its date of manufacture before 1918 or during the Nazi occupation during WWII. Based on the general design, the former seems more likely.
This instrument is most likely pitched in F, with the pigtail crook bringing the pitch down to Eb, though it is unknown whether it is in modern low pitch (A=440) or something higher, such as old Austrian military pitch (A=460) as seems to be the case with the unmarked F rotary trumpet in our collection. The most obvious feature of this instrument is its highly ornate inlaid keys and stop arm screws, and its octagonal clockwork spring casings, which are the most beautiful I have seen on one of these F trumpets. Apart from that, however, most of the instrument seems relatively plain in its design, as opposed to the ornately engraved valve caps and S-linkages on the unmarked F trumpet.
Overall, it appears that this was quite a good instrument when it was built, and in the ensuing century has held up relatively well. It would appear that it is somewhat playable at the moment, but is definitely in need of a proper restoration to deal with its various issues. Starting from the leadpipe, the solder joints on either side of the valveset have been poorly redone, along with the brace to the leadpipe, which is also displaced from its original position. The solder joint between the leadpipe and the valve section is also loose, so resoldering it is a necessity. It is difficult to tell from the photos, but there is a chance that instead of the original solder joint being disconnected, the valve knuckle itself may be sheared off, which would be considerably more difficult to repair. Throughout the body of the instrument, there is little significant damage, mostly limited to small dents in the bell tail. I do also notice that the third valve tuning slide has been rather recklessly pulled, resulting in a significant dent on the inside of the curve. Damage inside these curves is almost impossible to repair, so there is a chance that the only practical way to repair this is to replace the crook entirely. However, I doubt the damage would actually significantly affect acoustics, so the reasonable course of action would likely be to simply leave it as is. Finally, the bell has some damage near the rim, which may be difficult to fully straighten out without removing the garland, a rather laborious task. Once this restoration work is carried out, I believe that this trumpet would be a wonderful instrument, both historically and functionally, so long as intonation is within tolerable bounds.
“ Very old trumpet with rotary valves and beautiful MoP inlays at the triggers and screws of the front. The bell showes a garland. The nice sign at the bell reads "M.J. Hüttl Schluckenau i.B." Unfortunatelly there is a 2cm long crack at the tubing, a loose soldery joint at the entrance of the 1st valve and some medium and bigger dents and bents at bell and tubing , all slides are moveable, the valves are moveable. The instrument needs repair, a good cleaning/ polish. Please make sure you see all the pictures. Size of the horn is 43cm/17 inch. The tubing from the bell to the beginning of the mouthpice receiver is 175cm / 69 inches long. The additional crook adds approx. 24cm(10,5inch) Bellsize: 12 cm, aprox. 5inch. I guess it plays in F, but maybe in an old military pitch? The instrument needs to be cleaned repaired and serviced. Insured shipping to USA amounts to $ 59.Please also view my other auctions with instruments. shipping more than 1 item may save shippingfees. I accept payment via paypal , too.”
This F tuba was built by the Czechoslovakian company Cerveny in Koniggratz, at the time called part of Bohemia. This reference to Bohemia narrows its date of manufacture to either before 1918 or the German occupation of Czechoslovakia during the Second World War. The most interesting feature of this instrument are its so-called “Walzenventile”, or “roller valves”. This valve mechanism places the rotors at a 90° angle to their usual orientation, which was done to improve the valve action by increasing the mechanical advantage of the keys. Of course, this means that putting the valve tuning slides in the usual plane adds an extra 90° of tubing at each connection to the valve. The key mechanisms use the traditional sort of clockwork spring, which are adjustable by screws instead of the usual roller-like mechanism. This valve system implies that this is a pre-1918 instrument, as the examples I have seen are dated to roughly 1910. While this wrap of instrument appears small, it actually stands an impressive 41" tall, and likely has a bore of .710" through the first two valves and .748" through the third and fourth, based on another F tuba by Cerveny. This particular instrument appears to be in relatively good shape, with the only significant damage being to the bottom bow area and bell. As usual, the defining factor here would be valve compression, which of course isn’t described by the seller.
“This tuba is 41" tall and weighs about 18lbs. There are dents, but I don't see any holes. I'm not a musician, so I can't test it. There's no mouth piece. That's all I can say about it. This sale is final, there will be no returns. Maybe you can fix it, or use it as décor or as a prop. Don't miss this deal and bid now!”
Instruments in the Wild: Personal Collection at UW-Madison Horn Choir
Instruments Present:
1907 Buescher No. 24 Ballad Horn
1926 Buescher No. 27 Double French Horn
1926 Pan American 22E Mellophone
c.1957 Salvation Army “The Triumphonic” Tenor Horn
c.1890s Unmarked Low F Orchestral Trumpet
1904 Lyon and Healy Bb/A Duplex Cornet
1921 J.W. York and Sons Perfec-tone No.9 C/Bb/A Cornet
c.1916-1918 C.G. Conn New Wonder 80A “Victor” Bb/A Cornet
Today we got to show the horn choir we’re a part of most of our instrument collection, which went pretty well. The No.27 was having issues with the 3rd valve locking, which was a bit of an issue, but it was nice to be able to show people what early Alexander 103s were like, as the No.27 is a copy of one. Generally, it was pretty wonderful to be able to show people what these old instruments are like up close, since most people will only ever see them in photos. I hope we can get a chance to do more things like this, though I’m not sure how much interest there is in such things.
This long-model cornet was found at Phil Parker Ltd. in London, England while the mods were on vacation there (one does not simply go on vacation from being an instrument nerd). The 80A is a well-respected cornet that managed to survive (with some small variations) for almost sixty years, and in our opinion for good reason. At the time, it was the best cornet we had ever played. As a large bore long model, its tone can be much closer to that of a trumpet with a shallow-cup mouthpiece than short models, but it can also achieve the warm tones of a proper cornet with the appropriate mouthpiece. The silverplate finish was in quite good condition, but as far as we remember it did not have any remaining gold wash in the bell (or possibly only a tiny amount). Its engraving was quite pretty, having a buffed finish around the rim of the bell in a kranz-like engraving, along with a pre-art deco New Wonder logo and floral engraving. Phil Parker believed that the case with it was original, but from my experience that did not seem to be the case (haha... puns). Instead of the classic ‘20s unsprung latches and center mechanical latch, it had ‘40s/’50s sprung latches. When I was there, I passed over this as an early example of these latches, but a hole in the fabric lining of the case where the lyre mounts (or maybe it was something to do with the key-change mechanism) would suggest that the case was for a later-model 80A, which probably placed the lyre mount in a different location. It is interesting to see the economics of vintage instruments in England, where this is selling for somewhere in the $1100-1300 price range, where the same instrument would fetch $200-500 in the US.
This cornet in Bb and A was first introduced in 1901, placing heavy focus on the openness of its wrap and the scientific methods used to create it. The year after this instrument was produced, it appears that Conn began to try to shift its marketing away from the high end of its customer base, as the 1906 model advertises its first time coming in a more basic and affordable polished brass finish. The model was again updated in 1910, now able to switch between high and international/low pitch without requiring a separate tuning slide. Also in 1910, the description focusing on the instrument’s design was replaced by a much more generic one, omitting any specific reference to its wrap. In 1911, the New Invention Circus Bore cornet was introduced, and by 1913, if not 1911, the Conn-queror Solo cornet was dead.
This particular cornet is interesting for several reasons. First of all, it only ever had one owner, shown in a picture included with the cornet which appears to have been taken when the instrument was new.
He brought the cornet with him when he served in Europe during WWI, and it appears to have been quite well taken care of during its life. The instrument is also apparently the earliest instrument a person researching Conns knows of to have a Union label stamped on it, making it an even more interesting piece of history. The case is interesting to see as well, as it appears to have sprung flip-up latches, which seem to have only become popular by the mid-1930s, rather than the basic unsprung latches of this era.
As stated previously, this instrument is in quite good condition for its age. The bell appears to be slightly bent up near the valve section, and the mute has some dents in the edges. However, the mute is the original Conn mute, and the instrument has every other accessory that would have come with it originally, except for one mouthpiece which appears to have been replaced by a more modern-style mouthpiece. It does seem to not have a low pitch tuning slide, but there also does not seem to be a spot in the case where one had been, raising the question of whether this instrument was sold without one. This is odd, as there is no mention in the advertisements of the low pitch slide being optional.
This is an experimental triple horn built by Silver and Brass in Carson City. Most horns one sees are either single horns, pitched either in F or Bb, or double horns, which combine the two to allow for a better range. The triple horn is a fairly recent invention, adding an alto F side to the horn, giving it more stability in the extreme upper range. Due to the fact that the instrument must be able to be halved in length, triple horns often cannot have a usual tuning slide like other brass instruments, instead relying on other, often complex, forms of tuning.
For several reasons, this horn is quite unique. The main goal of the instrument was for it to have a main tuning slide, which was managed by having it jut out below the usual wrap of the instrument. Unlike other triple horns, this horn does not use 3-layer rotary valves, instead using a separate set of valves for the F bass side of the horn. This allows the horn to have multiple bore sizes, possibly improving its tone quality and feel. However, this also means that one must move two valves rather than one with the finger keys, which could get tiring. This horn has 10 valves in all (6 more than a normal horn), meaning that it is quite heavy, and also that rather than the 2-3 tuning slides on a standard double horn, it has 3 tuning slides and two “dump” slides specifically for removing condensation from the horn.
There has been a great deal of debate about whether or not this horn will actually be good or not. The leadpipe and bell branch are from a Conn 8D, the F bass valve set is from Alexander with tubing from Yamaha, other parts are from F.E. Olds, Alexander, and other german manufacturers, and the build quality appears quite good, meaning that there should not be any quality issues with the instrument. However, the fact that it is so complex and has so many valves, and is completely experimental, means that many are worried that it will have major intonation issues. Also, as it has 10 valves, it is very heavy, meaning that it might be too much of a workout to play for extended periods.
This is a compensating double horn in F and Bb, imported by Carl Fischer between 1940 and 1970. Carl Fischer's instrument company, which began as an importer of sheet music and instruments from Europe, was bought out by York Band Instrument Company in 1940. After this, the instruments produced became significantly worse, continuing until the demise of York in 1971 (along with so many other good companies in the period). This particular instrument is one I would guess to be one of the European horns imported by Fischer, based on its similarity to Italian compensating doubles imported by the likes of Getzen. Apart from the wrap of the horn, I believe this to be the case because of its use of mechanical valve linkages and keys stamped with “86″, the style of which is very similar to that of imported horns. However, imported instruments were stamped with their country of origin, most often on the leadpipe, but I did not see any stamp. Still, it’s not unlikely that this either does not appear in the pictures or was placed on a part that was subsequently replaced.
This particular instrument is in restorable condition, but has some important issues. In particular, the bell is out of round and has a crease in it, and the leadpipe had become detached from its brace. There are other dents around the instrument as well, but none are significant in size. The valves are also likely to have poor compression due to age and bad manufacturing, and I would expect the mechanical linkages to be somewhat loud and clunky. These horns are not well regarded in the horn community, and a fair number of people use them mainly for natural horn conversions (done by cutting out and bypassing the valve section) due to their poor playing qualities as valved instruments. Once the valves are removed, they apparently play pretty well. However, if this were to sell for a lower price, it could also serve as a good horn for repair practice and beginning students.
Our first instrument review! It’s debatable whether this is an instrument, but it’s at least kinda shaped like one. Sadly, this will probably be the only video filmed in somewhere other than our basement.
This is a rare sight for those stalking eBay. Saxhorns do not often appear on eBay (at least in comparison to other brass instruments), with this being the second I have seen in my time, the first being a Bb tenor saxhorn several months ago. This particular instrument is believed to be a European copy of an Eb soprano (comparable to today’s piccolo trumpets in its part) with Allen valves in the mould of those produced by Allen, D.C. Hall, Allen and Hall, or Hall and Quinby. The Allen valve is a rotary valve similar to those used by modern instruments in function, but with a few key differences. The diameter is much smaller than that of comparable modern valves, and achieves this small size by reshaping the valve ports from a circular shape to an oval narrower in the axis of rotation of the valve. Thus, less space is required inside the valve to avoid intersections. This design of instrument is also appealing in the design of its keys, which work in a similar fashion to modern string-linkage rotor valves, but are top-action. While this is aesthetically pleasing, I have not been able to determine if it is actually practical as an alternative to modern systems. Overall, this instrument appears to be in good shape for its age. Of course, this is taking into account its being over 150 years old, and as such does have a few issues (all visual and not functional). It could do with a good cleaning, and seems to have seen its fair share of soldering jobs of middling quality. The main issue I would foresee with this is its valves, which cannot be examined but have a high likelihood of being very worn. This would lead to air leaks and general instability when playing.
A shepherd’s crook cornet that appears, at first glance, to be nothing extraordinary. Listed by the seller as a “Model 15 Eb Alto Cornet”. A glance makes it clear that this is in Bb, not low Eb as an alto cornet would be. The wrap of this instrument is quite similar to that of J.W. York and Sons’ Bb-A cornets, which did not seem at all irregular as I first saw this instrument. However, some research in Buescher catalogs of the period to ensure that this was indeed a No. 15 and to figure out where the “Eb alto” came from found no mention of an Eb alto cornet. The No. 15 is indeed a cornet, but Buescher’s Grand model, using a different wrap than this example. Looking over Buescher’s other cornet offerings listed in their 1911, 1913, and 1918 catalogs unearthed no evidence of Buescher ever offering a cornet of this design. With this, I returned to comparing this to the J.W. York. From what I can tell, this is not a franken-horn as I thought may be the case. With careful examination, it appears to me that this Buescher design is a near-perfect copy of a J.W. York and Sons Bb-A cornet, either a prototype or a model produced for only a short period. The instrument itself appears to be in good condition and would require minimal restoration to return it to excellent condition, with the exception of the valves. They show some plating loss near the bottom, and are described as being particularly sticky. From what I can tell, the seller did not attempt to oil the valves, so this may simply be a case of a lack of lubrication, but a proper determination without the instrument is impossible. A more detailed discussion of my research into the nature of this instrument is under the cut, including some comparison pictures with a J.W. York and Sons cornet.
The bell and valves are definitively Buescher due to their engravings and valve spring design. The valve slides and leadpipe bear a striking similarity to those of a J.W. York, especially in the design of the pull for the second valve, but when directly compared have minor differences. The bracing of the Buescher has only one mount on each side of the 2nd valve casing and two long braces between the leadpipe and bell, as opposed to only two on the 1st and 3rd valve casings of the J.W. York. When compared side-by-side (via some gimp magic), the less obvious differences in structure become clear. I have compiled two pictures that place the two instruments on top of each other, of the back side and the leadpipe section.
Here, the valve casings have been aligned, with the Buescher overlaid as a transparency over the York. The two most notable differences are the bells, leadpipes, and tuning slides. Both bells appear to have been bent in their lives, with the Buescher bent slightly more downwards than the York. The shepherd’s crook of the Buescher is more pronounced, and generally does not rise as high as the York. The first bend of the Buescher’s leadpipe also occurs slightly before the bend of the York’s. The first slide of the Buescher is pulled further out than that of the York, and the latter has the high pitch tuning slide in while the former has the low pitch slide, making it longer. The LP slide of the York appears to be the same length as the Buescher’s.
And here, the other side is seen, only showing the leadpipe section because no full overview of this side was given, and with the leadpipe’s aligned rather than the valves. Transparencies are similar here. Here, it can be seen that the angle of the first tuning slide is closer to vertical on the Buescher, one of the only major differences. Here, the shepherd’s crook of the Buescher appears shorter than the York’s, and the valve slide alignments are very slightly different. Of interest, however, is how remarkably similar the valve tuning slides appear. The first valves have the same style of pull knobs in the same locations, the only difference being the shape of the plate they’re mounted on. The second valve slide is the true giveaway, as both are exactly the same. This is odd, because no other Buescher instrument of at least this era, or perhaps even though their whole history, used this style of pull.
From this research, it appears to me that the Buescher is an indigenous design, but extremely heavily based upon Yorks of the era (this design going back to at least 1909). This is not unknown for Buescher, as their No. 330 double french horn was also a near-exact copy of Alexander’s predecessors to the 103. Down to the valve cap engravings, the design is nearly spot-on on the 330, albeit with shoddier manufacturing.
This is a shepherds-crook style cornet built by the Chicago-based manufacturer Lyon and Healy, best known for their harps. At this point, a great deal of Lyon and Healy’s products were in fact instruments of questionable quality built in Europe, shipped to Chicago and labeled as Lyon and Healys. The series of the instrument, such as Beau Ideal or Own Make, denoted where the instrument was made, with Beau Ideals being most likely made in France. This instrument also has a removable leadpipe, and would originally have had multiple leadpipes to allow for the different tunings of the time. Its mouthpiece is also heavily engraved, which was less common by the beginning of the 20th century. This instrument appears to be in fair condition for its age, though the first valve button is an immensely tacky replacement, and the case is almost certainly not original, as cornets of this era often used cases which held the instrument upright. The missing leadpipes are not much of a disadvantage for actually playing the instrument in modern contexts, but do make the instrument less historically interesting, as it is incomplete.
A german-style tenor horn of undetermined age. The bell is engraved with characters that roughly translate (according to Google Translate and some research) to "Chinese People’s Liberation Army, Eastern Army, 007, Dalian”. The CPLA was formed after the end of the Second World War and still exists today, and the red rot present on the instrument seems unlikely to have formed unless the instrument is at least 20-25 years old. Thus, I would put this instrument’s age at between 20 and 75 years old. The “Eastern Army” engraving seems somewhat at odds with “Dalian”, as Dalian is a city in southern China. Maybe someone else can interpret this information better than I. The instrument itself is almost completely in relatively good condition, with few dents, a slightly bent bell, and a number of spots of red rot. Valves 1-3 are described as moving well, but the fourth is “extremely stiff”. Keeping this instrument from being a very workable playing horn is the main tuning slide, or more specifically the lack of it. It seems to me that this would be a decent project for one willing to build a new slide and sleeve assembly.
A Soviet-era french horn, described as from Leningrad. Without knowing the logos of Soviet instruments, I cannot determine much of anything about the maker or age. However, I have seen “Leningrad” used as one of the four main brass instrument companies in the USSR, considered the best in quality (for Soviet Russia, meaning it’s still crap). According to the source of this information, their french horns had “good sound”. The person listing this described it as in “F flat”, but I find a horn in E very unlikely. It appears to be a standard F horn, but I could believe it being in Eb. The provided pictures fail to give a great impression of its condition, but it appears to be in acceptable shape. The points at which the mechanical valve linkages connect to the valves appear to have brass corrosion and there are one or two small dents in the bell branch and after the third valve, but it appears to be in decent shape.
This is a quite interesting rotary trumpet, built by the precursor to Amati-Denak. The instrument is not very ornamented, unlike some instruments of the era, but does have an engraved garland. The instrument was made in Bohemia, meaning that it was either built before 1918 (when Bohemia was absorbed into Czechoslovakia), or between 1938 and 1945, as instruments made during the Nazi occupation were often labeled as being made in Bohemia. However, another rotary trumpet also being sold by this seller is made by the same company in Bohemia, but instead of the ornate garland engraving, is labeled with a plaque, making me think that it is one made during the Nazi occupation. This instrument has some pretty major issues, mainly the cracked metal in the crumpled area in the bell branch near the first valve. It also needs several solder repairs, and some minor dents to be taken out of the bell. However, it does come with the correct mouthpiece for the instrument, which is quite good as there is little on the internet about what mouthpieces should be used with these instruments.
