Cornet, B-flat, A
Date1915 ca.
Place MadeMarion, Ohio, United States, North America
ModelOpen Tone, model 4½
Serial No.3863
SignedEngraved on bell: THE / Meredith / OPEN TONE / Cornet / MARION, O.MarkingsStamped on left side of second valve case: PAT.D / 1909 / 1912 / 3863
Stamped on valve stems: 3863
Stamped on valve casings, stems and top valve caps, respectively: 37, 38, 39
Stamped on guide lugs, respectively: 1, 2, 3
DescriptionGold-plated brass, satin finish with burnished highlights, mother-of-pearl finger buttons, double loop, main tuning slide with rotary-valve quick-change to A (second bow), fixed leadpipe, three Périnet valves (1, ½, 1½) with short upright loops (left) and regular valve loops with slides (right), top-sprung, spring inside hollow stem, alignment by two unequal lugs (larger one T-shaped) on spring anchor plate, steel pistons with straight passages, four ports per valve, single water keys (first bow, third-valve slide), windway 3-1-2.
Silver mouthpiece stamped: MEREDITH
The dating results from the patents stamped on the second valve case and the address given in the signature. Meredith was active in Marion from 1907 to 1920. The patent stamps refer to US patent 939,285, applied for on December 4, 1901, and granted October 9, 1909, and US patent 1,040,372, applied for December 12, 1906, and granted October 8, 1912. Both patents are concerned with a smooth windway without sharp turns by introducing air passages on two levels and short loops connecting these air passages when the valves are not in use. This arrangement results in pistons with horizontal ports. The present cornet follows the second patent from 1912 in every respect, except the lack of a push rod for the third valve slide. The entire design is another attempt to equalize open notes and valve notes.
In the model name, Open Tone, the influence of Conn’s Conn-Queror models and Buescher’s True-Tone models is obvious. Z. Albert Meredith (1869-1956) is recorded in Elkhart from about 1895 to 1906, probably working for one of these two makers.
DimensionsHeight: 356 mm
Tube length: 1298 mm, 1379 mm
Bore diameter (initial, minimum, tuning slide, valve slides): 9.5 mm, 8.5 mm, 11.5 mm, 11.7 mm (0.461 inches)
Bell diameter: 123 mm
ProvenancePurchased from Steve Dillon, Woodbridge, New Jersey, 1990.
Published ReferencesSabine Katharina Klaus, Trumpets and Other High Brass: A History Inspired by the Joe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection. Volume 4: The Heydey of the Cornet (Vermillion, SD: National Music Museum, 2022), pp. 119-20, 279.
Credit LineJoe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection, 1999
Object number07011
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