Pocket Cornet in Eb by Henry Lehnert
Henry Lehnert emigrated to the US from Saxony like many
others that worked in the musical instrument manufacturing
trade although his home town of Freiburg was not at all close to
the large centers for these trades. It is not known if he and his
brother Carl had previous experience when they arrived in
Boston in 1860. It is thought that they worked in the shops of
Graves and Wright and Henry moved to Philadelphia in 1867.
This cornet was likely made in the early 1870s since it seems
unlikely that Lehnert would have continued making Allen valves,
such as these, for very many years since rotary valves were
quickly falling out of fashion. He did, however, continue
making rotary valve instruments of all sizes until after the 1976
Centennial Exhibition where he introduced his new "Centennial
Model" instruments with rotary valves. This was a family of
rotary valve brass instruments, all of which had the bell facing
forward. The tenor, baritone and basses were distinct in that
they rested on the shoulders of the player with his head in the
middle of the main tubing. Henry Lehnert continued
manufacturing high quality brass instruments in Philadelphia until
1916, the year that he died. Most of these historical facts come
from William Waterhouse, "The New Langwill Index", Tony
Bingham, 1993.
This Eb pocket cornet is remarkably well preserved, showing
very little wear, and couldn't possibly have seen much use. The
removable tuning mouthpipe shank and mouthpiece are original
as is a satchel style case, not shown. With the mouthpipe shank
removed it is 8 1/8" long and the bell rim diameter is only 3
13/16". The bore measures .426". In the last photo, it is
standing next to a contemporary Lehnert Eb cornet of more
typical dimensions. This pocket cornet also appears in the pages
of PocketCornets.com in which collection it previously resided.
Click on images for larger views.
others that worked in the musical instrument manufacturing
trade although his home town of Freiburg was not at all close to
the large centers for these trades. It is not known if he and his
brother Carl had previous experience when they arrived in
Boston in 1860. It is thought that they worked in the shops of
Graves and Wright and Henry moved to Philadelphia in 1867.
This cornet was likely made in the early 1870s since it seems
unlikely that Lehnert would have continued making Allen valves,
such as these, for very many years since rotary valves were
quickly falling out of fashion. He did, however, continue
making rotary valve instruments of all sizes until after the 1976
Centennial Exhibition where he introduced his new "Centennial
Model" instruments with rotary valves. This was a family of
rotary valve brass instruments, all of which had the bell facing
forward. The tenor, baritone and basses were distinct in that
they rested on the shoulders of the player with his head in the
middle of the main tubing. Henry Lehnert continued
manufacturing high quality brass instruments in Philadelphia until
1916, the year that he died. Most of these historical facts come
from William Waterhouse, "The New Langwill Index", Tony
Bingham, 1993.
This Eb pocket cornet is remarkably well preserved, showing
very little wear, and couldn't possibly have seen much use. The
removable tuning mouthpipe shank and mouthpiece are original
as is a satchel style case, not shown. With the mouthpipe shank
removed it is 8 1/8" long and the bell rim diameter is only 3
13/16". The bore measures .426". In the last photo, it is
standing next to a contemporary Lehnert Eb cornet of more
typical dimensions. This pocket cornet also appears in the pages
of PocketCornets.com in which collection it previously resided.
Click on images for larger views.