Distin Cornet, London
In the 1830s, John Distin and his four sons formed a brass
quintet for the purpose of performing concerts. He had
established himself as a professional musician at least twenty
years previously and realized that there was a market for his
family band. They first performed on keyed bugle, slide
trumpet, trombone and hand horn but as valve brasses
became available, they utilized them as well. They were
among the very first to popularize the Saxhorns. It is
thought that they first learned of these and immediately
started using them on their 1844 tour of Europe. They were
also very quick to become London agents for Sax's
instruments, at first selling them from the family home as
Distin and Sons. By 1850, Henry Distin was the proprietor
of Distin and Sons and imported French instruments by
makers other than Sax and set about to manufacture his own
line of brass instruments by 1853 and thus ending his
relationship with Adolphe Sax. Not much is known about
the early London shop but from several rotary valve
Saxhorns from this period that I have worked on over the
years, the quality of design and workmanship rivalled those
made by Sax. In 1864 Distin was granted a patent for an
improved cornet with "light piston valves". These were a
slight variation of the valves first made by Francois Perinet
in 1838 and which we generically call "Perinet piston
valves". This cornet was very much a copy of Antoine
Courtois Koenig's model cornet, being made since about
1855, and vied for popularity of this modern cornet. Most
of these historical facts come from William Waterhouse, The
New Langwill Index, Tony Bingham, 1993.
My example of Distin's Light Piston Valve Cornet was made
about the time that Distin sold his factory to Boosey and Co.
in 1868. It was entered into the factory stock book in
January 30, 1869 and sold to the New York branch of
Boosey and Co. on November 15 of that year. The stock
book indicates that it was indeed originally silver plated and
is in remarkable state of preservation. The original silver
plating is almost completely intact and while I needed to
remove a number of dents, the valves are still quite tight.
This last point is extremely rare in antique cornets. It also
retains its original case, Bb mouthpipe shank, two bits and
lyre. Notice that the shank and bits all are stamped
"DISTIN". Missing from the original kit are the mouthpiece,
A shank and crook for G, all of which have a spot in the
case. The overall length with mouthpiece removed is 12
9/16", the bell rim diameter is 4 7/8" and the bore measures
.455". It is very interesting that the bell stamp states:
"Approved by Levy" because this is about the same year that
Courtois introduced its "Levy's Model" which looked just
like this as well as the earlier "Koenig's Model" Courtois
cornets although that more famous Levy model had a
smaller bore measuring .449". It would be interesting to find
out if there was much overlap between the two Levy model
cornets. Indeed Jules Levy lent his name to quite a few
makers for Levy model mouthpieces as well. I believe that I
have at least six distinct makes of Levy model mouthpieces
in my collection. The last photo shows the flamboyant Mr.
Levy playing his Courtois cornet in the 1870s.
After selling his company in 1868, Henry Distin spent his
time promoting other musical acts and moved to New York
in 1877. His plans were to build a modern brass
manufactory befitting the forward looking American ethos.
More about this on my page featuring a Distin cornet made
in New York City.
quintet for the purpose of performing concerts. He had
established himself as a professional musician at least twenty
years previously and realized that there was a market for his
family band. They first performed on keyed bugle, slide
trumpet, trombone and hand horn but as valve brasses
became available, they utilized them as well. They were
among the very first to popularize the Saxhorns. It is
thought that they first learned of these and immediately
started using them on their 1844 tour of Europe. They were
also very quick to become London agents for Sax's
instruments, at first selling them from the family home as
Distin and Sons. By 1850, Henry Distin was the proprietor
of Distin and Sons and imported French instruments by
makers other than Sax and set about to manufacture his own
line of brass instruments by 1853 and thus ending his
relationship with Adolphe Sax. Not much is known about
the early London shop but from several rotary valve
Saxhorns from this period that I have worked on over the
years, the quality of design and workmanship rivalled those
made by Sax. In 1864 Distin was granted a patent for an
improved cornet with "light piston valves". These were a
slight variation of the valves first made by Francois Perinet
in 1838 and which we generically call "Perinet piston
valves". This cornet was very much a copy of Antoine
Courtois Koenig's model cornet, being made since about
1855, and vied for popularity of this modern cornet. Most
of these historical facts come from William Waterhouse, The
New Langwill Index, Tony Bingham, 1993.
My example of Distin's Light Piston Valve Cornet was made
about the time that Distin sold his factory to Boosey and Co.
in 1868. It was entered into the factory stock book in
January 30, 1869 and sold to the New York branch of
Boosey and Co. on November 15 of that year. The stock
book indicates that it was indeed originally silver plated and
is in remarkable state of preservation. The original silver
plating is almost completely intact and while I needed to
remove a number of dents, the valves are still quite tight.
This last point is extremely rare in antique cornets. It also
retains its original case, Bb mouthpipe shank, two bits and
lyre. Notice that the shank and bits all are stamped
"DISTIN". Missing from the original kit are the mouthpiece,
A shank and crook for G, all of which have a spot in the
case. The overall length with mouthpiece removed is 12
9/16", the bell rim diameter is 4 7/8" and the bore measures
.455". It is very interesting that the bell stamp states:
"Approved by Levy" because this is about the same year that
Courtois introduced its "Levy's Model" which looked just
like this as well as the earlier "Koenig's Model" Courtois
cornets although that more famous Levy model had a
smaller bore measuring .449". It would be interesting to find
out if there was much overlap between the two Levy model
cornets. Indeed Jules Levy lent his name to quite a few
makers for Levy model mouthpieces as well. I believe that I
have at least six distinct makes of Levy model mouthpieces
in my collection. The last photo shows the flamboyant Mr.
Levy playing his Courtois cornet in the 1870s.
After selling his company in 1868, Henry Distin spent his
time promoting other musical acts and moved to New York
in 1877. His plans were to build a modern brass
manufactory befitting the forward looking American ethos.
More about this on my page featuring a Distin cornet made
in New York City.
Click on image for larger view.
