Cornet, B-flat, A, high pitch / low pitch
Maker
C. G. Conn
Date1908 ca.
Place MadeElkhart, Indiana, United States, North America
ModelPerfected Wonderphone or Wonderphone no. 2
Serial No.107387
SignedEngraved on bell: THE / WONDERPHONE / C. G. CONN / MAKER / ELKHART, / IND.MarkingsStamped on right side of second valve casing: PAT. APD. FOR.
Stamped on left side of second valve casing: L / 107387 / UNION [within a chevron]/ M. P B / P. I. U / LABEL
Stamped on valve stems: 107387
Stamped on water keys: 7387
Stamped on valve casings and stems, respectively: 1, 2, 3
Scratched into quick-change slide by former owner: A
DescriptionSilver-plated brass, bell interior gold-plated, mother-of-pearl finger buttons, two loops on opposite sides of valves, main tuning slide (alternatives for high/low pitch) at second bow also serves as quick-change to A with push rod and finger piece, fixed leadpipe, three Périnet valves (1, ½, 1½), top-sprung, spring inside hollow stem, alignment by three unequal lugs on spring anchor plate, pistons nickel-plated brass, single water keys (first bow and tuning slide), windway 3-2-1.
Alternative main tuning slides for high pitch and low pitch.
Two silver-plated cornet mouthpieces, stamped “CONN MODEL / 18 // CONN” and “WONDER MODEL / 19 // CONN”
The main characteristic of the Perfected Wonderphone (or Wonderphone model no. 2) is that the main tuning slide is positioned after the valve segment on the bell side of the instrument. Despite the stamp on the second valve, no specific patent can be associated with this model.
DimensionsHeight: 385 mm
Tube length: 1304 mm (HP), 1365 mm (LP), 1386 mm (A)
Bore diameter (initial, minimum, tuning slides, valve slides): 9.9 mm, 9.3 mm, 11.9 mm, 11.8 mm, (0.466 inches)
Bell diameter: 117 mm
ProvenancePurchased from Jack Silver, Silver Spring, Maryland, 1984.
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. 96-98, 276.
Credit LineJoe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection, 1999
Object number06833
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![Cornet, [B-flat], A, high pitch / low pitch](/internal/media/dispatcher/11889/thumbnail)
