Collectors I have known

Like most instrument collectors, I have met several collectors in 30 plus years. Some have been helpful to me as a young collector and others have not. About 30 years ago I met Franz Streitweser and viewed his collection. He offered me much good advice and it is to him that I owe my success in collecting. Another important collector of my acquaintance is Dan Woolpert who rescued the 1st Brigade Band when it was about to fall apart about 30 years ago.  Not only did Dan become a good friend, he also became a collector and is responsible in large measure for the magnificent collection amassed by the 1st Brigade Band. He became the bandmaster and curator of the collection, The 1st Brigade Band collection is unique in that the majority of the instruments are restored to playing condition and are used regularly in concert performances

Nancy Campbell, a performer on brass is one of the main reasons the collection remains playable. Other persons, Byron Autrey in particular, also does many restorations for the band.

I know of no other band with such a large collection of playable instruments anywhere.

Now that I have retired from playing and collecting, I appreciate what a really important unit this band is and was in my life. I keep in contact with other collectors and would enjoy hearing from both collectors and restoration experts on this very interesting hobby

Collecting, when is enough, enough?

Good question, and one every collector faces at a point in his/her collecting experience.

I recently faced this choice and since my sons are not interested in continuing the collection, I decided to dispose of it by sale to other collectors. Museums, you will find, will gladly take your collection, but they want it donated and while this often happens, the collection most often ends up being stored in the bowels of the museum in plastic bags with a tag indicating who made the donation, never to be seen again.

Many years ago, while visiting one of these museums, and doing 2 days research on over the shoulder horns I found bag after bad full of horns, many of them mislabeled and generally not accessable to the public for viewing. The museum had a wonderful display of instruments available in the viewing area, but the bowels of the museum contained many uncovered treasures and sources of information to the collector

It seemed such a shame that donated instruments were not available to the public who had donated them, but only to a chosen few for research. Several large collections exist in National Museums and are under the control of the person making the donation. That person usually becomes the curator for life (at a salary) as long as the collection stays at the museum after that persons death.

I have known several collectors with large collections and have found that several feel as I do that the horns would be better off sold to other individual collectors rather than disappearing into the basements of large museums never to be seen again.

My choice is to keep the smaller collections alive. That way, more of the public will have access to the instruments

Vienna Valves and their role in Music

Today, only the Vienna Symphony uses horns with Vienna Valves.  They are specially made and they, like the Berliner Pumpen valve, seem to have disappeared into obscurity.  Vienna valves, known in the United States as Vienna Double slide valves, are little known.  Surprisingly, American makers attempted to make Vienna Valves and several have been found in American collections.  One sold recently on ebay for $14,400.  It was made by Graves in Boston, probably in the 1850’s.

Another example by a obscure maker in Cincinnati is in the 1st Brigade Band collection and can be viewed online at the band’s very interesting website.  The 1st Brigade Band is a website that should be visited by anyone, collector or researcher, to view the collection.

I actually played one of my Vienna valved horns when I was in the 1st Brigade Band and I found it to play rather well.  I still always went back to my Berliner Pumpen Alto, as it was the horn I preferred over all others.  I guess every musician has a favorite and I had mine.

One of the men in the band, as his favorite, preferred a rotary valve alto horn that was used in the original 1st Brigade Band in the 1850’s.  It was used at the Lincoln-Douglass debates in Illinois before the Civil War.  Playing a horn with a historic connection is a joy in itself.  Just for your info - it didn’t play as well as my favorite, the Berliner Pumpen Alto.

Box Valve Cornet

I suppose every collection has a conversation piece which has puzzled the collector and generates a wide variety of comments from those viewing the collection. My conversation piece has been this box valve cornet that I acquired over thirty years ago. Some say it is extremely rare and an important piece. Others say that it is someones idea of a bad joke.

Either way, I still don’t have an answer and would like to solicit comments from those interested just what this is. I know that there are probably less than 10 known box valved instruments in existence.  Mine certainly doesn’t look like the two I saw in the museum in Nuerenberg Germany. I know that Quimbey attempted a box valve horn in the 1870s but have never seen an example of one.

A friend told me of the existence of this horn in the late 1970s and I was fortunate enough to be the successful bidder on it. It is not a complete horn and is missing the lead pipe and bottom plate for the box valve section. The bell section is obviously an E flat Sheppard crook cornet, common in the 1870s. The valve section is like nothing I have ever seen. Can you help me identify it?

To restore or not to restore

There are two schools of thought here and one most collectors have pondered at one time or another. The most difficult decision for me was when I had to decide what to do with my box valve cornet. I acquired it in 1970 at an antique shop in Illinois and since it looked so strange, I wanted to research box valves. I soon discovered that box valves are the rarest kind of valves and finding an instrument in a collection was almost impossible. In the early 1970s while visiting Germany, I found two instruments at a museum in Nuremberg that were made by the inventor of the box valve, Schuster, in the 1820s. From the U.S. Patent office, I acquired a copy of the Quimbey patent for horns they intend to make in the 1870, but in searching for box valved horns I discovered that there were very few in existence. One in a Museum in Rhineland Germany and another at the Shrine to Music in Vermilion S.D.

 

Since my instrument was incomplete (missing the lead pipe, one valve slide and one square valve mechanism, I had nothing to go on in completing the restoration. Finally, Byron Autrey attempted to recreate the missing 1st valve mechanism and was quite successful, but would not attempt further restoration as he had nothing to   use as a model. Bob Pallansch in Virginia also would not attempt it for the same reason

 

I have finally given up my quest for restoration and I believe there are probably no more than ten existing horns with box (square) valves in collections today. So, this mission is unaccomplished unless there is someone out there with another example of a horn with box valves. The valve was invented by Schuster in the early 1820s and Quimbey was the last to market a successful horn.  The box valve seems to have died a quiet death in 1870, never to be heard from again. Just another dilemma for a horn collector desiring a restoration.

Creating a Civil War Brass Band

In this podcast, Dan Woolpert talks about issues surrounding the creation of a Civil War era brass band.

Mr. Woolpert (Bandmaster Emeritus and Instrument Curator) is an Ex Officio member of the board and are regular attendee of the Heritage Military Music Foundation

Collecting Antique Horns

Back about 40 years ago when I began collecting horns, I got a bit of good advice from another collector who was downsizing his very large collection to specialize in Civil War instruments and bands. He cautioned me to aim at a certain field of collecting and to concentrate on that field, otherwise I would end up with an attic full of instruments that wouldn’t tell any kind of story.

I decided that since I live in an area of Wisconsin that was heavily settled by Germans and Irish from 1820 to 1900, I would collect instruments of that origin. In addition, I decided to tell the story of the development of different valve systems.

This has worked to my advantage and I would highly recommend that young collectors follow this path. Joining the 1st Brigade Band helped me to develop relationships with persons of a like mind and interests.

It has been a wonderful journey in that I met many fine and talented people. I also visited many historic places and learned more about the history of brass instruments than I could have at some of the finest universities in the land.

I look forward to continuing this relationship with persons like myself who absolutely love music history.

German Berliner Pumpen Valve

The Berliner Valve tuba in this article is one I acquired from a friend and is an early example (1840-1850) of a tuba which still had the shape of an ophicleide from which the tuba developed.  It has two valves up and two valves down and looks exactly like one in an advertisement of Herold in Klingenthal ca. 1855 featured in the Journal of the American Musical Society authored by Dr. Herbert Heyde.  It is probably not as early as the Prussian cornet, but every bit as important in the development of the Berliner pumpen valve.

The second quarter of the 19th century was probably the busiest and most important in the development of valve systems and to a lesser degree, the configuration of tubing on horns.  The major developments of the rotary valve, the piston valve, the box valve, the Stolzel and Bluhmel valve, the Vienna valve and Perinet valve all occurred between 1825 and 1850. William Wieprich the director of the Gard du Corps band in Berlin favored the Berliner valve and championed its cause, but within the 80 year period of 1830-1910, the Berliner valve faded and disappeared.

Robert played a Berliner valve horn while in the 1st Brigade Band and favored it over the American string action rotary which was the most popular valve system during the Civil War.  He has collected a variety of “Berliner Pumpen” valved horns representing the period between 1830 and 1870 and am still convinced it is superior to the Pernet valve which is popular today.

Vienna Valve Graves Cornet - Big Money on eBay

Recently, a Graves Vienna valved cornet in “as is” condition sells for over $14,000.00!  Link

Battle of the Bands July 2006

Two bands of Civil War vintage instruments play in competition across the Canon River then join forces for “Home Sweet Home.” First Brigade Band from Wisconsin and 26th North Carolina Regimental Band based in Baltimore both played during the Vintage Band Festival held in Northfield, Minnesota during July 2006. Dr. Paul Niemisto of St. Olaf College was the organizer.

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