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Trumpet, B-flat

Trumpet, B-flat

Date: 1997
Place Made:Norwich, Norfolk, England, Europe
Model: Freddie Flintstone Custom Shop, Rock'n Roll Artform
Serial No: E 16423
SignedPainted in red, green, and yellow on second-bow filling and bell interior: TAYLOR / UK
MarkingsPainted on outside of bell in red, green, and yellow: ROCK / ’N’ ROLL ARTFORM
Painted on brace between leadpipe and bell in red, green, and yellow: E 16423
Stamped on valve stems, respectively: 1, 2, 3
DescriptionBrass, body (including bell interior) coated with granite-gray stone paint, brass with clear lacquer (valve slides), raw-brass (finger buttons, valve caps), nickel-silver (ferrules and outer valve slides), green plastic inlay with floral design (finger buttons), massively solid appearance achieved with filled-in bows, single loop, main tuning slide at first bow, three Périnet valves (1, ½, 1½), top-sprung, spring inside hollow stem, alignment by two unequal white plastic lugs on spring anchor plate, nickel-silver-plated brass pistons, Amado water key at main tuning slide, trigger with pull-ring and stop screw at third valve, windway 3-2-1.

Silver mouthpiece with gold rim, stamped: YAMAHA JAPAN 14B4-GP.

When heavy-style trumpets first emerged, there was a joke going around that they looked like a lump of concrete or a slab of brick. Andy Taylor turned this into a practical joke by creating this Fred Flintstone Custom Shop “Rock’n Roll Artform” trumpet to look just like a slab of concrete. But when it was finished, it looked grey and boring; therefore, Andy "graffitied it." An inspiration for the heavy granite-like coating was the pseudo stone-age technology in the animated TV series "The Flintstones," popular in the 1960s and giving this trumpet its name.
DimensionsHeight: 480 mm
Tube length: 1308 mm
Bore diameter (initial, minimum, main tuning slide, valve slides): 11 mm, 9.1 mm, 11.66 mm, 11.68 mm (0.46 inches)
Bell diameter: 133 mm (5 1/4 inches)
ProvenancePurchased in 1997 from Andrew Taylor, Norwich, United Kingdom.
Credit Line: Joe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection, 1999
Not on view
Object number: 07252