John Heald Cornet
John Heald was born in 1843 into a family already active in US
brass bands. His father, Paul, played the keyed bugle and was
the original owner of the earliest valved brass instrument known
to have been made in the US. It was called the "Permutation
Trumpet" made by Nathanial Adams in Lowell Massachusetts,
in 1825. John learned to play the keyed bugle and cornet in his
youth and moved to Worcester 1863, eventually working there
for Isaac Fiske. Heald was granted his first patent in 1882
while working for C.W. Hutchins in Springfield Mass covering
a waterkey actuated by a lever for the fingers of the left hand
while in playing position. Hutchins was a music store and
importer of European instruments and claimed to manufacture
cornets as well. I haven't determined whether or not they built
their own cornets, but there are existing Courtois style cornets
signed by Hutchins with Heald's 1882 patent waterkey. In
1884, Heald was granted a patent for a waterkey that was much
simpler but equally effective. This design is pushed with the
thumb of the right hand as can be seen on this cornet. The last
photo to the left shows a Conn Wonder cornet with this type of
waterkey (Nick DeCarlis collection). It is not known if Conn
had permission to use this patented design but they are only
seen on Wonder cornets from about 1885 to 1887. John Heald
spent a short time in Philadelphia in the late 1880s, presumably
working for Henry Distin or J.W. Pepper. He probably didn't
make complete cornets until about the time that he applied for
his next patent in 1889. This covered the shape of the tubing
through the valves seen here which avoided some of the sharp
curves seen on earlier valve designs. The cornet shown here
was made in about 1900, shortly after the patent that covered
the design of the combination tuning slide, A change slide. The
key is changed from Bb to A without disturbing the main tuning
slide. Heald continued in business until he sold the company in
1927. Later Heald trumpets use valve sections made by H.N.
White (King) while retaining the patented A change slide.
Heald remained a small shop, making high quality cornets and
eventually expanded to trombones and trumpets but never any
larger valved instruments. Heald was able to sell his cornets at
the same price as his larger competitor, Boston Musical
Instrument Manufactory, which was $65 for a silver plated
cornet but this was a premium price compared to the Conn
Wonder that was $50 with similar finish but including gold
inside the bell. The price for this cornet with the gold trim was
$72 and a few dollars more for the owners name to be
engraved on the bell and nameplate on the case. These cornets
are highly regarded by the few modern players that have had
access to one. I had the opportunity to work on Graham
Young's instruments late in his life. He had two cornets that he
loved playing: a Benge with shepherd's crook bell made for him
in the early 1950s and a Heald very much like this one. He told
me that he played all the cornet solos in "The Great Waldo
Pepper" on the Heald because it got such a great cornet sound
and was a joy to play.
This cornet plays a bit flatter than modern pitch (A=440Hz) and
I have my doubts that the existing mouthpipe shank is original
with this cornet, although it is an excellent mechanical and
acoustic fit and the ferrule and knobs match some I have seen
other Heald cornets. In at least one Heald cornet that came
through my shop with three different length Bb mouthpipe
shanks, the longest being the same length as this one and also
playing lower than modern pitch. I believe that Heald's clientele
were largely professional musicians that were more likely to
play at lower pitches than those of the amateur bands that
dominated the market. This cornet is 13 1/4" long with the
shank removed, the bell rim diameter is 5" and the bore
measures .470".
brass bands. His father, Paul, played the keyed bugle and was
the original owner of the earliest valved brass instrument known
to have been made in the US. It was called the "Permutation
Trumpet" made by Nathanial Adams in Lowell Massachusetts,
in 1825. John learned to play the keyed bugle and cornet in his
youth and moved to Worcester 1863, eventually working there
for Isaac Fiske. Heald was granted his first patent in 1882
while working for C.W. Hutchins in Springfield Mass covering
a waterkey actuated by a lever for the fingers of the left hand
while in playing position. Hutchins was a music store and
importer of European instruments and claimed to manufacture
cornets as well. I haven't determined whether or not they built
their own cornets, but there are existing Courtois style cornets
signed by Hutchins with Heald's 1882 patent waterkey. In
1884, Heald was granted a patent for a waterkey that was much
simpler but equally effective. This design is pushed with the
thumb of the right hand as can be seen on this cornet. The last
photo to the left shows a Conn Wonder cornet with this type of
waterkey (Nick DeCarlis collection). It is not known if Conn
had permission to use this patented design but they are only
seen on Wonder cornets from about 1885 to 1887. John Heald
spent a short time in Philadelphia in the late 1880s, presumably
working for Henry Distin or J.W. Pepper. He probably didn't
make complete cornets until about the time that he applied for
his next patent in 1889. This covered the shape of the tubing
through the valves seen here which avoided some of the sharp
curves seen on earlier valve designs. The cornet shown here
was made in about 1900, shortly after the patent that covered
the design of the combination tuning slide, A change slide. The
key is changed from Bb to A without disturbing the main tuning
slide. Heald continued in business until he sold the company in
1927. Later Heald trumpets use valve sections made by H.N.
White (King) while retaining the patented A change slide.
Heald remained a small shop, making high quality cornets and
eventually expanded to trombones and trumpets but never any
larger valved instruments. Heald was able to sell his cornets at
the same price as his larger competitor, Boston Musical
Instrument Manufactory, which was $65 for a silver plated
cornet but this was a premium price compared to the Conn
Wonder that was $50 with similar finish but including gold
inside the bell. The price for this cornet with the gold trim was
$72 and a few dollars more for the owners name to be
engraved on the bell and nameplate on the case. These cornets
are highly regarded by the few modern players that have had
access to one. I had the opportunity to work on Graham
Young's instruments late in his life. He had two cornets that he
loved playing: a Benge with shepherd's crook bell made for him
in the early 1950s and a Heald very much like this one. He told
me that he played all the cornet solos in "The Great Waldo
Pepper" on the Heald because it got such a great cornet sound
and was a joy to play.
This cornet plays a bit flatter than modern pitch (A=440Hz) and
I have my doubts that the existing mouthpipe shank is original
with this cornet, although it is an excellent mechanical and
acoustic fit and the ferrule and knobs match some I have seen
other Heald cornets. In at least one Heald cornet that came
through my shop with three different length Bb mouthpipe
shanks, the longest being the same length as this one and also
playing lower than modern pitch. I believe that Heald's clientele
were largely professional musicians that were more likely to
play at lower pitches than those of the amateur bands that
dominated the market. This cornet is 13 1/4" long with the
shank removed, the bell rim diameter is 5" and the bore
measures .470".
