Cornet, B-flat
Maker
F. Besson
Date1883-1884 ca.
Place DistributedLondon, England, Europe
Place MadeParis, France, Europe
ModelDesideratum
Serial No.30634
SignedStamped on bell: 31 MEDALS OF HONOUR (in banner) / FR (monogram) / F. BESSON / BREVETÉ / 96. RUE D’ANGOULÊME / PARIS. / [five-pointed star]MarkingsStamped on second valve casing within oval: F. BESSON. / BREVETÉE
Stamped on second valve casing below oval: 30634
Stamped on bell and each removable part (slides, shank, mouthpiece): DW JW, lion passant, leopard’s head, H, head of Queen Victoria
Stamped on bottom valve caps and stems, respectively: 4, 5, 6
DescriptionSterling silver, bell interior gold-plated, silver applications, colored glass stones, double loop, two tuning slides (second and third bow), removable leadpipe (B-flat shank), three Périnet valves (1, ½, 1½), top-sprung, spring outside stem, alignment by one key on piston (nickel-silver), modèle anglais, straight intervalve porting, single water key at first bow, windway 3-2-1.
Dating based on shape of hallmark “H” (used in 1883-1884). Although hallmarked in London (submitted by silversmiths Daniel and John Wellby), this cornet was made in Paris according to the signature stamp. Besson moved from 92 to 96 rue d'Angoulême in 1889, and it appears that this instrument was stamped in Paris several years after it was made. In London this model was called Desideratum, while a similar model but with knuckled-out porting was known as Concertiste in Paris.
Like NMM 7120, this cornet appears to have been made for display at the “International Inventions Exhibition” in London in 1885.
DimensionsHeight: 330 mm
Tube length: 1212 mm, 1279 mm
Bore diameter (first and second tuning slide): 11.7 mm, 11.6–12 mm
Bore diameter (valve slides): 11.8 mm
Bore diameter (shank, initial, minimum): 9.3 mm, 8.6 mm
Bell diameter: 119 mm
ProvenancePurchased from Tony Bingham, London, England, 1995.
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. 32-33, 36, 59, 266.
Credit LineJoe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection, 1999
Object number07119
On View
On view
