Images(5)

Cornet, C, [B-flat] and A

Maker Besson & Co.

Distributor Carl Fischer

Date1896

Place MadeLondon, England, Europe

Place DistributedNew York, New York, United States

ModelNew Star

Serial No.59175

SignedStamped on bell: CHICAGO / BORE / 50 MEDALS OF HONOUR (in banners) / FB (monogram) / BESSON & CO / “Prototype.” / 198 EUSTON ROAD / LONDON / [five-point-star] / ENGLAND / C. FISCHER / 6. 4TH Av. N.Y. / SOLE AGENT U. STATES
MarkingsStamped on second valve casing within oval: BESSON & CO / [five-point-star] / BREVETE
Stamped on second valve casing below oval: 59175
Stamped on valve casings, caps and stems, respectvely: 1, 2, 3
Stamped on shank for A: 175
Stamped on extension marks at inner slides of first and third valves: BI and Ad [d looks more like delta and is amateurishly engraved]
DescriptionSilver- and gold-plated brass, elaborately decorated with floral engravings, double loop, main tuning slide (second bow), second tuning slide (third bow), removable leadpipe (shank), three Périnet valves (1, ½, 1½), top-sprung, spring outside stem, alignment by one key on piston (nickel-plated brass), single water key, windway 3-2-1.

Shank for A original, shank for B-flat lost.
Two C attachments for high pitch (not original) and low pitch (original), inserted instead of main tuning slide, bypassing leadpipe.

According to the Besson stock books (Horniman Museum and Gardens, London), this cornet was numbered no later than March 31, 1896. “CHICAGO / BORE” was stamped on Besson instruments, both for domestic use and export, following the Chicago Exhibition of 1893.

DimensionsHeight: 327 mm
Tube length: 1205 mm, 1356 mm, 1094 mm, 1131 mm
Bore diamater (initial, minimum, tuning slide, valve slides): 11.8 mm, 10.4 mm, 11.6 mm, 11.8 mm
Bore diameter (shank, initial, minimum): 9.1 mm, 8.7 mm
Bore diameter (C attachments, range, initial, tuning slides): 10.5–10.7 mm, 11.6 mm
Bell diameter: 117 mm
ProvenancePurchased in 1988 from Steve Dillon, Woodbridge, New Jersey.
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. 38-39, 267.

Credit LineJoe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection, 1999

Object number06934

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