In her book “Fanfares and Finesse” Elisa Koehler stated that most of us have serious misconceptions about the cornet. She wrote that cornets since the 20’s are simply trumpets with a cornet wrap and that cornets sound even more like trumpets because instrument makers put trumpet mouthpieces on cornet shanks. So…, I read several books and articles about cornets and here’s what I uncovered.
When Louis Armstrong gave up the cornet for the trumpet he had good reason. Until then he had been playing Dixieland Jazz and the old style cornet blended well with clarinets, tubas and trombones to make a sound mélange that only Dixieland has. In the 20’s, when music evolved away from Dixieland to become dance, big band and swing, the blending quality of the cornet didn’t work. He needed a brighter lead sound, so he moved to a trumpet. Most pros quickly followed so cornet sales plummeted and makers of cornets began to make them with a cylindrical bore like trumpets to brighten them up. Then, when Bach came out with a shallow, rounded cup mouthpiece the sound of a trumpet brightened even more so cornet makers started putting that new trumpet mpc on cornets too.
One study I read by Robb Stewart who measured the bores of 27 modern cornets and 21 modern trumpets found that the average percentage of conical bore of the cornets was 66% and the trumpets 67%. Hmmmmm, so much for the conical/cylindrical difference myth. I think the best summary of what happened was by Niles Eldredge, who wrote that the cornet went through so many changes in the 20’s that it had evolved itself out of existence.
These are the reasons that collectors savor these old, pre-20's cornets and why I have so many in my collection and enjoy restoring them.
Bruno and Son was a New York music store and a major nationwide seller of mail order musical instruments from 1834 until the 1930s. They are considered so much a part of Americana that the Smithsonian and The American History Museum have each made one of Bruno and Son's complete catalogs available for viewing on line. Photo 9 is page 20 of that catalog which shows this cornet, the lower one on that page, selling for $15.00 to $27.00 depending on the finish. Like so many other major music stores in the United States back then Bruno did not make instruments but had their stencil put on European instruments. The best guess by the American History Museum was that this horn was made in either Germany or Austria. This cornet was not made for a professional as you can see from the case design. It was made for an amateur player to throw in with other gear for a cross country trip or even for a stint in the navy or in the cavalry headed out west into Indian territory, or to serve in the war with Mexico. Don't forget this horn was made just when the transcontinental railroad was completed, a full generation before Teddy Roosevelt, the Rough Riders and the Spanish American War.
I took time restoring this raw brass cornet because it's something special, though only made for an amateur to play. I checked all the solder joints and soldered where necessary. It had no dents but lots of pings and dings which I removed as much as possible. Upon re-assembly I replaced all the felts, springs and water key pads and adjusted the valves. When I tested the compression I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. From the last photo you can see that all the slides are free and that the valves are top sprung like a pro horn and the valve plating looks especially good. I polished the horn up and then played it for about a half hour. It has decent valve action and intonation. It's a respectably made horn which would be an extra unique addition to any trumpet collection. If I were to make this a permanent part of my collection I would have a new leather replica of the original leather case made as that too is something special. I'll send the original case packed in the same carton separately from the cornet.
Comes with the original leather case shown in the photo, a Bb lead tube and a mouthpiece.
Key: Bb
Bell: 4 5/8"
Bore: .450"
Non-reverse lead tube
Please check out other listed horns from my collection by clicking on Gabriels Trumpets in blue above.
