Bb Cornet by B.F. Richardson, Boston
This cornet had been restored before, so the biggest challenges
were getting it back to how it was originally including
determining the correct positions and angles of tubing, braces
etc when I put it back together. Mostly, this is a good
opportunity to show a very interesting early American cornet
from the collection of Wayne Collier and tease out as much
information on the maker as possible. Because there are so
few instruments extant by Richardson, there has not been
much research done or articles written on his career.
Benjamin Franklin Richardson was born February 6, 1823 and
was known to be a professional musician by the late 1840s. I
found a report that he was leader of Flagg's Cornet Band in
1858. On the 1850 and 1860 censuses he is listed as a
musician, but in the Boston directories for the same years, he
is listed as musical instrument maker. By 1849, he was at the
same address as Henry Prentiss, well known as a music
publisher, importer and dealer in all sorts of musical
merchandise, including brass instruments made in Europe. It is
believed that woodwinds were made in that shop. In 1852,
Richardson was in partnership with J. Lathrop Allen, where he
must have learned something about manufacturing brass
instruments. Then in 1861, he was in partnership with John
Bayley Sr., an English cornetist who designed a cornet with a
straight, fixed mouthpipe ending in a narrow tuning slide and a
long, single curve bell hanging below the valve section. In
1862, Bayley registered this design in England along with a
similar cornet with piston valves that was produced by Kohler
for several decades. The stated purpose of the second design
was to allow all the moisture to collect in the main tuning slide
where a waterkey was located. Several of each design exists in
collections today including one by Richardson with six
independent rotary valves. In about 1865, a new partnership
was formed with Henry and Carl Lehnert, who also may have
learned the business in one of the Boston maker's shops.
When Henry Lehnert moved to Philadelphia in 1867,
Richardson and Carl Lehnert continued their operation is
Boston. Richardson continued to be listed in the Boston
Directory as a musical instrument maker until 1890. It is
possible that, like D.C. Hall, Patrick Gilmore and others,
Richardson was a business partner that didn't work in the
shop, but in view of the fact that he spent a few years without
a partner that made instruments, it seems likely that he did
actually learn at least some of the skills needed to make such
an instrument. This cornet was made in 1855, one of those
independent years and exhibits a fairly high level of skill. The
flat windway rotary valves are similar to those that he would
have experienced in Allen's shop and exhibit the distinctively
shaped valve knuckles seen on Lehnert's rotary valves
beginning 11 years later. Notice that the first and second valve
slides are interchangeable, allowing the player to choose the
fingerings. This was a time when the design of brass
instruments was in a state of flux throughout the western
world. The Bb cornet was emerging as the dominant voice in
Europe and Britain and the harmony to the Eb keyed and
valve bugle in the US. Rotary valves with top action lever as
seen here were the most popular choice domestically. The
bore measures .429", the overall length with shank removed is
13 3/8" and the bell diameter is 5 1/16".
The ad shown at the bottom left appeared in the Boston
Register in 1862, a time between the Bailey and Lehnert
partnerships. The cornet illustrated is of the same design that
was made by Allen and Hall at that time aside from the
distinctive valve design. Perhaps the slightly redesigned valve
knuckle was one of the improvements that are indicated in the
ad. The cornet illustrated appears to have the same valve
design as seen in this cornet, including the flat windways and
valve caps on the right side (in playing position) rather than on
the left as seen on Allen, Lehnert and almost all other Boston
made rotary valves. An Eb tuba signed by Richardson and an
Eb valve bugle without signature. It's especially interesting that
he states "Importer and practical manufacturer of Musical
Instruments". It is possible that he was having instruments
and/or parts made in Europe to his designs or just importing
the sorts of instruments that he didn't make. Many makers
sold less expensive imports along with their own products,
including Boston Musical Instrument Manufactory for a short
time. Whatever the case, it does seem clear that B.F.
Richardson was a talented and industrious individual that
emphasized quality in his products.
were getting it back to how it was originally including
determining the correct positions and angles of tubing, braces
etc when I put it back together. Mostly, this is a good
opportunity to show a very interesting early American cornet
from the collection of Wayne Collier and tease out as much
information on the maker as possible. Because there are so
few instruments extant by Richardson, there has not been
much research done or articles written on his career.
Benjamin Franklin Richardson was born February 6, 1823 and
was known to be a professional musician by the late 1840s. I
found a report that he was leader of Flagg's Cornet Band in
1858. On the 1850 and 1860 censuses he is listed as a
musician, but in the Boston directories for the same years, he
is listed as musical instrument maker. By 1849, he was at the
same address as Henry Prentiss, well known as a music
publisher, importer and dealer in all sorts of musical
merchandise, including brass instruments made in Europe. It is
believed that woodwinds were made in that shop. In 1852,
Richardson was in partnership with J. Lathrop Allen, where he
must have learned something about manufacturing brass
instruments. Then in 1861, he was in partnership with John
Bayley Sr., an English cornetist who designed a cornet with a
straight, fixed mouthpipe ending in a narrow tuning slide and a
long, single curve bell hanging below the valve section. In
1862, Bayley registered this design in England along with a
similar cornet with piston valves that was produced by Kohler
for several decades. The stated purpose of the second design
was to allow all the moisture to collect in the main tuning slide
where a waterkey was located. Several of each design exists in
collections today including one by Richardson with six
independent rotary valves. In about 1865, a new partnership
was formed with Henry and Carl Lehnert, who also may have
learned the business in one of the Boston maker's shops.
When Henry Lehnert moved to Philadelphia in 1867,
Richardson and Carl Lehnert continued their operation is
Boston. Richardson continued to be listed in the Boston
Directory as a musical instrument maker until 1890. It is
possible that, like D.C. Hall, Patrick Gilmore and others,
Richardson was a business partner that didn't work in the
shop, but in view of the fact that he spent a few years without
a partner that made instruments, it seems likely that he did
actually learn at least some of the skills needed to make such
an instrument. This cornet was made in 1855, one of those
independent years and exhibits a fairly high level of skill. The
flat windway rotary valves are similar to those that he would
have experienced in Allen's shop and exhibit the distinctively
shaped valve knuckles seen on Lehnert's rotary valves
beginning 11 years later. Notice that the first and second valve
slides are interchangeable, allowing the player to choose the
fingerings. This was a time when the design of brass
instruments was in a state of flux throughout the western
world. The Bb cornet was emerging as the dominant voice in
Europe and Britain and the harmony to the Eb keyed and
valve bugle in the US. Rotary valves with top action lever as
seen here were the most popular choice domestically. The
bore measures .429", the overall length with shank removed is
13 3/8" and the bell diameter is 5 1/16".
The ad shown at the bottom left appeared in the Boston
Register in 1862, a time between the Bailey and Lehnert
partnerships. The cornet illustrated is of the same design that
was made by Allen and Hall at that time aside from the
distinctive valve design. Perhaps the slightly redesigned valve
knuckle was one of the improvements that are indicated in the
ad. The cornet illustrated appears to have the same valve
design as seen in this cornet, including the flat windways and
valve caps on the right side (in playing position) rather than on
the left as seen on Allen, Lehnert and almost all other Boston
made rotary valves. An Eb tuba signed by Richardson and an
Eb valve bugle without signature. It's especially interesting that
he states "Importer and practical manufacturer of Musical
Instruments". It is possible that he was having instruments
and/or parts made in Europe to his designs or just importing
the sorts of instruments that he didn't make. Many makers
sold less expensive imports along with their own products,
including Boston Musical Instrument Manufactory for a short
time. Whatever the case, it does seem clear that B.F.
Richardson was a talented and industrious individual that
emphasized quality in his products.
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