Alto horn, E-flat, C
Maker
Francois Millereau
Date1889 ca.
Place MadeParis, France, Europe
ModelArban-Bouvet double-principle
SignedEngraved on bell: ALTO ARBAN / L. BOUVET / Ingénieur. / Rue MICHEL – BIZOT 182 / PARIS / No 1MarkingsEngraved on fourth valve casing: Alto ARBAN SYSTÈME BOUVET BTE S.G.D.G
Stamped on valve casings and caps, respectively: 1, 2, 3, 4
DescriptionSilver-plated brass, triple loop, bell upright, C tuning slide follows after first entrance into fourth valve (when in use), main tuning slide follows after second entrance into fourth valve (default), four Périnet valves (1, ½, 1½, pitch-change to C), fourth valve leads windway either through shorter upper (default) or longer lower valve loops (in use), bottom-sprung, alignment by one key on nickel-plated brass pistons, single water key at both tuning slides, windway: 4-1-2-3-4.
A forerunner of this system with quick-change rotary valve was patented by Jean Baptiste Arban and the civil engineer L. Bouvet in 1885 (French Patent # 171296). In 1887, Arban and Bouvet replaced the rotary valve quick-change with a fourth Périnet valve. The firm Arban-Bouvet was established in 1889, the year of Arban's death, and instruments with the Arban-Bouvet name were subsequently produced by François Millereau.
DimensionsHeight: 566 mm
Tube length: 1971 mm (E-flat), 2364 mm (C)
Bore diameter (initial, minimum, tuning slides, valve slides): 10.5 mm, 10.1 mm, 11.7–11.8 mm, 11.3-11.5 mm, 11.5 mm
Bell diameter: 178 mm
ProvenancePurchased from Jean-Michel Renard, Bellenaves, France, 1996.
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. 210-11, 293.
Credit LineJoe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection, 1999
Object number07171
On View
Not on view
1890 ca.
