Collecting, why do we do it?

Have you ever asked yourself, Why am I doing this?

Why do we collect antique musical instruments? Is it the feeling of actually touching musical history or events.  I mentioned in another article the satisfaction one member of the 1st Brigade band had of actually playing an instrument that Lincoln and Douglas also heard playing in Freeport Illinois during their historic debates?

In the case of the weapons collector, that the musket, pistol, sword was used during a battle like Gettysburg? I take great pride in the fact that my great grandfather fought in that battle and actually stood on Cemetary hill and watched and waited as Pickett charged their position.

So, why do we collect? The answer, I believe is to touch history, not to relive it. For almost every item you can think of, there is a collector. From the largest items to the smallest matchbox or cigar band, you will find someone who collects it.

In the case of musical instruments, you have the added satisfaction of hearing what people back in history heard and enjoyed, and to hear it played on the original instruments is an added kick!

Add to all of that that you get to meet some great folks and travel to some very interesting places. You also learn about the history of your country in a very unique way.

There is one other thing that I want to add to this subject. During a time when the band visited Springfield Illinois and played at Lincolns Tomb, I experienced something I will never forget. It was a sultry hot summer day and our band approached the tomb. The snare drummers had black cloths draped over the drums as they played the slow roll.  As we got closer to the tomb, one woman in the audience became very emotional and as we began to play “Lincolns funeral March” she began to weep. She was obviously transported back in time to 1865 and was mourning the loss of Lincoln in a different way. She felt she was actually there.

That is one of the reasons why we collect!

Keyed Brasses, the first brass bands

Not much is written any more about the first brass bands that developed just after the invention of the keyed bugle and ophicleide.  The Serpent, which is not actually a brass instrument but a leather and wood concoction with a brass or ivory mouthpiece added the bass element to the band and an occasional trombone or sackbutt and a flute rounded out the earliest brass bands from 1810 up until the mid 1840s when the invention of valves on brasses changed the picture forever.

Keyed brass bands had their own soloists of the day. Edward “Ned” Kendall and the mysterious Francis Johnson, an African American of much renoun provided the solo line and actually “dueled” with valved brass soloists to display the proficiency of the instruments and the talent of the soloist.

Keyed brass bands soon faded and are not heard from except in the U.K. and eastern seaboard of the United States where there is only one such band remaining.

Keyed brass return us to the earliest brass bands. I remember hearing the 1st Brigades Bill Burdick performing “Gentle Annie” on the ophicleide. It is something I will always treasure.

Valved Trombones, their faded glory

 

I think the reasons we no longer see them is that they outlived their usefulness They came in many sizes and with different valve systems and at one time were very popular. I have my own theory on this subject and I actually played an Eb tenor valved trombone in the 1970s for a period of about 5 years. I acquired it in Kiel Wisconsin at an antique store. It was a refugee from an estate sale that did’nt sell and was consigned to languish away in an obscure corner of the shop. Mine came with its original coffin case, a lyre and original mouthpiece. There was also a crook to put it in the key of C. All things considered, it played rather well and research indicated that it belonged to a William Voss of Kiel Wisconsin. It has string action rotary valves that appear to have been made in New York or the New England states shortly after the Civil War.

Now, to my theory of why valved trombones are no longer used. I think they were used in lieu of slide trombones when the regimental bands were in vogue. They were much more durable than slide trombones and took the rough handling of a field band. Add to that the number of regimental bands that were mounted on horseback and required the musician to hold reins in one hand and play with the other, and you have the answer! European Bands still have bands mounted on horseback, and I would wager that some of them, especially British bands may occasionally still use a valved trombone rather than a Bb tenor horn.

Is there anybody out there that has another view of the valved trombones exit from todays brass bands?

Is it really what you think it is?

Like most collectors of antique horns, I have been guilty of not doing my homework on identifying exactly what kind of horn, valve type, maker, etc I have. The sources for this kind of identification are there, but often the novice collector does not know where to look Two good starting points are Langwills Index and Heydes works. Other sources are Eliasons works and other collectors in different countries.

I had been making this mistake for years, until just recently, I made the acquaintance of  German collector Udo Koehne. Udo has a very interesting and a good sized collection of brass instruments. In addition, Udo is a professional brass musician (trumpet) in a Bonn Germany orchestra, so when he talks about brass instruments and valve systems, you can learn a lot.

I had been in error for years in identifying one of my horns as having Vienna Valves. Udo informed me that the instrument was in fact known as “Neumainzer” and had what was known as “Klinkerdrucker” and explained that was the reason the Graves/Boston horn on Ebay sold for over $14000.

Udo was kind enough to share this information and even told me where to look to find examples of this type of valve. Just another example of how important it is to the novice collector to contact the right sources and persons for information. Thanks Udo!

Calling all restorers

Restoration experts are hard to find if you are an antique horn collector. Looking at it from the perspective of the restorer, he/she wants do make a profit from their skills and the more they can do in a day, the more money they can earn. The time spent in making parts for instruments made over a century ago can take time and skill, and the ability to do research before attempting restoration. If you know collectors like I do, they want the instrument to play like they were new and the cost of repair to be minimal.

Most museums have their own in house restoration expert, a situation the private small collector does not enjoy. So, where does the little guy go when a restoration is needed? Most music stores will laugh you right out the door and consider you a waste of their time. I think European collectors have a better chance of finding a skilled restorer and linking up with them. Sending your horn across the waters to be restored can be risky business.

There is, in the United States the problem of finding an “instrument repair person” why wants to restore your instrument to “like new condition” and actually overdo a restoration with polish and lacquer.

This is that spot between a rock and a hard place that the American collector finds himself in.

Any ideas out there?

Town Bands, a link to our musical past

Town Bands once numerous in small town America have all but disappeared from the scene in most of the country. Wisconsin and Minnesota still have several, but the small town brass band of a century ago has become a thing of the past.

From 1870 to just before the First World War, the small town band was the only form of entertainment people had. There was no telephone, radio, television, automobiles, planes, and the only way folks of a century or more ago. The town band played at weddings, funerals, parades, and in the bandshell on the green on lazy summer evening when ladies in long dresses sipped lemonade while listening to the local boys play a Strauss Waltz or a stirring march.

Small town bands had their beginnings with the returning Civil War bandsmen and from the late 1860s to 1920, the movement caught fire. My grandfather was a clarinetist in the Kenosha Band and it was there that he met my grandmother. I can picture her now, sipping lemonade and keeping an eye on that handsome fellow playing clarinet.

The picture of the Batavia band shows the instrumentation of smaller band and the Eb cornet played by the seated musician (second from the right). The transition from Eb to Bb brass band was still not under way,The British Brass Bands still use Eb cornets, but American bands seldom use them.

I can remember 60 years ago as a young man playing in my first town band. As a beginning musician, I found the music challenging but it sparked an interest in a hobby that continued into my mid 70s.  Music is a wonderful and rewarding hobby and I’m sure it will continue to entertain me as a now participate in it in different ways.

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?

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