Conn & Dupont Eb Cornet
This early Conn and Dupont Eb cornet (serial number 475) was
probably made in 1877 or early 1878. This young partnership,
which had just started in 1876, concentrated most of their efforts
on building the successful "Four in One Cornet" but were also
quickly adding a complete line of brass instruments to their
catalog. This is a fairly conventional Eb cornet compared to the
clever Four in One and also very similar to the smaller bore
instrument that Conn continued in production until about 1915.
The indication of "Superior Class" would lead one to believe that
this was the most deluxe line of instruments supplied by Conn,
but indeed, the Four in One, Vocal and Artist cornets were all
more expensive than this and presumably in a more superior
class. That aside, it appears to be a very high quality cornet and
in spite of worn valves, is a very good playing instrument. The
engraving, while somewhat artistic and elaborate, is not of the
high quality seen on more expensive Conn instruments of that
time. It was probably still executed by Jake Gardiner, but I
suspect that he didn't spend much time on it. The "23" stamped
on the bell was certainly added later and I have no idea what it
meant. The silver plating is original, though worn. The patented
rubber rim mouthpiece is from the era but not original and the
tuning mouthpipe is a reproduction of the original. The overall
length is 12 5/8" the bell diameter is 4 9/16" and the bore
measures .457". It is interesting that the bore measurement is
close to my Four in One cornet that was made within a year of
this, but not the same at .454". It is certainly possible that the
makers found it important to tool up for each instrument with
what they determined to be optimal measurements, but another
possibility is that they were purchasing drawn tubing from other
makers in sizes that were available. This cornet stayed in the
family of the original owner until very recently when finances
necessitated selling it.
The cut below shows a very similar cornet offered by Conn.
probably made in 1877 or early 1878. This young partnership,
which had just started in 1876, concentrated most of their efforts
on building the successful "Four in One Cornet" but were also
quickly adding a complete line of brass instruments to their
catalog. This is a fairly conventional Eb cornet compared to the
clever Four in One and also very similar to the smaller bore
instrument that Conn continued in production until about 1915.
The indication of "Superior Class" would lead one to believe that
this was the most deluxe line of instruments supplied by Conn,
but indeed, the Four in One, Vocal and Artist cornets were all
more expensive than this and presumably in a more superior
class. That aside, it appears to be a very high quality cornet and
in spite of worn valves, is a very good playing instrument. The
engraving, while somewhat artistic and elaborate, is not of the
high quality seen on more expensive Conn instruments of that
time. It was probably still executed by Jake Gardiner, but I
suspect that he didn't spend much time on it. The "23" stamped
on the bell was certainly added later and I have no idea what it
meant. The silver plating is original, though worn. The patented
rubber rim mouthpiece is from the era but not original and the
tuning mouthpipe is a reproduction of the original. The overall
length is 12 5/8" the bell diameter is 4 9/16" and the bore
measures .457". It is interesting that the bore measurement is
close to my Four in One cornet that was made within a year of
this, but not the same at .454". It is certainly possible that the
makers found it important to tool up for each instrument with
what they determined to be optimal measurements, but another
possibility is that they were purchasing drawn tubing from other
makers in sizes that were available. This cornet stayed in the
family of the original owner until very recently when finances
necessitated selling it.
The cut below shows a very similar cornet offered by Conn.
Click on images for larger views.
