Images(8)

Trumpet, B-flat

Maker C. G. Conn, Ltd.

Date1963

Place MadeElkhart, Indiana, United States, North America

Model15B Director

Serial No.1000000

SignedStamped on bell: [large star with stars falling from it] / [three marching bandsmen with sousaphone, saxophone, trumpet] / CONN / U. S. A.
DescriptionGold-plated, clear lacquered with Lustre-Conn finish. Inlaid mother-of-pearl finger buttons. Three bottom-spring pistons, one guidepin each. Water keys on tuning slide and third valve-slide. Finger hook. Adjustable finger ring on third valve tubing.

Introduced in 1961, the model 15B Director trumpet was manufactured for the student player and, according to a 1962 ad, was “mechanically superior so as to withstand normal student abuse.” But the real significance of this particular example is its serial number--it is the 1,000,000th brass instrument manufactured by Conn. After a decade during which it was displayed by Conn dealers across the United States, it was presented by Larry G. McSwine, president of Conn, to Charlie Rogers, a 46-year veteran employee of the company, upon the occasion of Rogers' retirement in 1973 (engraved on plaque attached to wood mount: THE 1,000,000 TH CONN INSTRUMENT / IS PRESENTED TO / CHARLES C. ROGERS / IN APPRECIATION OF HIS / 46 YEARS OF SERVICE / JANUARY 5, 1973).

DimensionsBore: 11 mm (.433”)
Bell diameter: 4 5/8 in
ProvenanceDisplayed throughout the US after its manufacture in 1963. A decade later, it was presented to Charles (Charlie) C. Rogers, Elkhart, Indiana, "in appreciation of his 46 years of service, January 5, 1973."
Purchased from Evelyn Rogers, Elkhart, Indiana, 1990.
Published ReferencesBanks, Margaret Downie. _Elkhart's Brass Roots: an Exhibition to Commemorate the 150th Anniversary of C. G. Conn's Birth and the 120th Anniversary of the Conn Company_. Vermillion: The Shrine to Music Museum, 1994. (p. 75)

Credit LineBoard of Trustees, 1990

Object number04925

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