Trumpet-cornet, B-flat
Maker
Bobby DeNicola
Date1997
Place MadeMurrells Inlet, South Carolina, United States, North America
ModelPuje
Serial No.516942
SignedStamped on plaque at third-valve slide: PUJE / DENICOLA / MRLS INL S.C.MarkingsStamped on left side of second valve casing: 516942
Stamped on valve casings and stems, respectively: 1, 2, 3
DescriptionSilver-plated brass, mother-of-pearl finger buttons, double loop, main tuning slide at first bow, second fine-tuning slide at second bow with thumb hook, three Périnet valves (1, ½, 1½), top-sprung, spring inside hollow stem, alignment by two unequal plastic lugs (one T-shaped, the other one flat) on spring anchor plate, nickel-silver-plated brass pistons, Amado water keys at main tuning slide, third bow and third-valve slide, adjustable pull-ring and stop screw at third-valve slide, windway 3-2-1.
Silver mouthpiece, stamped: 17C // D. NICOLA // MRLS INL S.C.
Bobby DeNicola (1929-2006) was known for custom-made instruments and mouthpieces. This hybrid between trumpet and cornet has a trumpet-size leadpipe and main tuning slide, while incorporating cornet design features, such as a second tuning slide and a shepherd's crook bell bow. The second slide has a thumb hook and serves as a fine-tuning slide for the whole instrument.
Hailing from Trenton, New Jersey, DeNicola initially called this trumpet design the "Pudgy" trumpet, and made one with upward-turned bell for Dizzy Gillespie (https://nmaahc.si.edu/object/nmaahc_2012.172.6a-f). Later the name was changed to "puje" trumpet. In 1993 DeNicola moved to Murrells Inlet in South Carolina.
DimensionsHeight: 358 mm
Tube length: 1306 mm
Bore diameter (initial, minimum, tuning slide, valve slides): 10.9 mm, 8.9 mm, 11.7 mm, 11.68 mm (0.46 inches)
Bell diameter: 127 mm (5 inches)
ProvenancePurchased in 1997 from Bobby DeNicola, Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.
Credit LineJoe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection, 1999
Object number07245
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