Trumpet, B-flat, A, high pitch / low pitch
Maker
Rudall Carte & Co. Ltd.
Date1925
Place MadeLondon, England, Europe
ModelWebster Trumpet
Serial No.6795
SignedStamped on bell: WEBSTER / Trumpet / [British Royal coat of arms with lion and unicorn] / BY APPOINTMENT / TO THE LATE / QUEEN VICTORIA / Rudall Carte & Co Ltd / Manufacturers / 23 / BERNERS STREET / OXFORD STREET / LONDON / 6795MarkingsStamped on valve casings, top and bottom valve caps, respectively: 4, 5, 6
DescriptionSilver-plated brass, single-loop, cornet-size leadpipe going into second valve, valve section with expanding bore, alternative conical main tuning slide with quick-change stop rod (first bow), three Périnet valves (1, ½, 1½), bottom-sprung, alignment by key on red-brass pistons, single water keys at main tuning slides, windway 2-1-3.
Main tuning slide for high-pitch B-flat with quick-change stop rod for low pitch.
Main tuning slide for low-pitch B-flat with quick-change stop rod to A.
Silver cornet mouthpiece, stamped: B. & H. STANDARD / C / MADE IN ENGLAND
This Webster model patent conical-bore trumpet is one of only a few examples of this design that survive in public collections. The model was patented on December 31, 1903, British Patent 21295. The intention was to equalize the tone quality between open notes and those played with valves. This was accomplished with a conical bore in the valve segment of staggered increasing dimensions. Playing experiments undertaken with other surviving Webster trumpets have demonstrated that the design is very good and responsive.
The model is named after the craftsman Webster, who made brass instruments at Rudall Carte & Co. in London, a firm that is otherwise known for its excellent flutes. Despite its narrow receiver, allowing only a mouthpiece with cornet shaft, it is defined as a “trumpet” in the signature. This is due to the narrow bellpipe with abrupt flare that supports the higher frequency components of the sound.
This trumpet was finished on August 6th 1925, and sold on August 1st 1931 to Clifton College in Bristolm, according to the Rudall Carte & Co., Ltd., stock books. It was listed as high-pitch B-flat trumpet, but survives with two main tuning slide, one with quick-change from high-pitch B-flat to low pitch, the other with quick-change from low-pitch B-flat to A.
DimensionsHeight: 453 mm
Tube length: 1286 mm, 1339 mm, 1396 mm, 1455 mm
Bore diameter (initial, minimum, tuning slide, valve slides): 9.7 mm, 9.1 mm, 11.2-11.7 mm, 11.2 mm, 11.3 mm
Bell diameter: 115 mm
ProvenancePurchased in 2008 from Tony Bingham, London, England.
Published ReferencesArnold Myers and Frank Tomes, “PCB Cornets and Webster Trumpets: Rudall Carte’s Patent Conical Bore Brasswind,” Historic Brass Society Journal, vol. 7 (1995): 118.
Credit LineJoe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection, 2008
Object number14375
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![Cornet, [B-flat], A, high pitch / low pitch](/internal/media/dispatcher/11889/thumbnail)
