Prussian Cornet, Alto, G, F
Maker
Franz G. Kaiser
Date1855-1857 ca.
Place MadeCincinnati, Ohio, United States, North America
Serial No.none
SignedEngraved on valve protection sheet: F. G. Kaiser. / Maker / Cinti,, O.MarkingsPistons engraved: I, II, III, IV, V, VI.
DescriptionBrass, double loop, tuning slide at second bow, three double-piston valves (1, ½, 1½), flat springs (new Mainz type).
This American-made bell front alto horn is strictly speaking a Prussian alto cornet. Made by the Saxon-born maker F. G. Kaiser, it incorporates several regional German and Bohemian traditions. The flat spring return of the double-piston valves was first desribed as "New Mainz Model" in 1835. The bell shape is known as "Koeniggrätz bell," a deviation of the Prussian Cornet, in which an almost conical bell ends in a very small flare in the area of the garland. This bell design was created by V. F. Červeny in Koeniggrätz.
DimensionsHeight: 400 mm
Tube length: 1642 mm, 1776 mm
Bore diameter (initial, minimum, tuning slide, valve slide): 11.8 mm, 11.2 mm, 11.3–12.2 mm, 10.9 mm
Bore diameter shank (initial, minimum): 9.2 mm, 9 mm
Bell diameter: 116 mm
ProvenancePurchased in 1992 from Steve Dillon, Woodbridge, New Jersey.
Published ReferencesGarofalo, Robert & Mark Elrod. A Pictorial History of Civil War Era Musical Instruments & Military Bands (Charleston, West Virginia: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, 1985), p. 28.
Sabine K. Klaus, “Kaiser & Kohler – German-born Brass Musical Instrument Makers in Cincinnati, Ohio,” Alta Musica, Vol. 26, ed. by Raoul F. Camus and Bernhard Habla (Tutzing: Hans Schneider, 2008), pp. 215-249.
Sabine K. Klaus, “German-American Relationships: Immigration and Trade Factors in America Brasswind Instruments during the 19th Century,” in: Laurence Libin (ed.), Instrumental Odyssey. A Tribute to Herbert Heyde. Bucina: The Historic Brass Society Series No. 9 (Hillsdale, New York: Pendragon Press, 2016), p. 85.
Sabine Katharina Klaus, Trumpets and Other High Brass: A History Inspired by the Joe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection. Volume 3: Valves Evolve (Vermillion, SD: National Music Museum, 2017), pp. 91-92, 106, 108-109, 134-135, 220, 226, 299.
Credit LineJoe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection, 1999
Object number07072
On View
Not on view
1845-1860 ca.
1900 ca.
