1952 "Symphonic" Cornet

[rhjimmy]

I picked up an interesting looking silver cornet on EBay yesterday, and I'm looking for any insight you may have. The bell has several lines of engraving:
Symphonic
10 April 1952
POUSA 3297 (which I think means Property of US Army and a serial number)
Special Services Property
There is a serial number 54802 on the second valve case, and that's all the markings. It has a fixed upper 3d slide ring and no 1st slide saddle. There aren't any shepherds crooks. I haven't received the horn yet, so I don't know any more other than it is silver plated.

In 1952, military bands were part of Special Services, so I think it is safe to assume that the horn was purchased by the Army, was played for who knows how long or by who knows who, then it was eventually sold as surplus.

It's just a shot in the dark, but does anyone here know anything about a horn like that? I don't have any idea how to figure out who made the thing, but I'd like to find out. My plan is to restore it and maybe play it if it doesn't sound too bad.

[huntman10]

I tracked it down.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/225648914563?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=rvi3fc7OQEu&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=yettP_cCSVO&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=MORE

It appears to be an Eastern European (Czech maybe?) stencil. The fixed third slide ring is installed although there is no provision to move the 3rd slide with it. There appears to be a Bb-A stop rod under the case bed and one of the stop brackets under the main slide, which had generally been dropped from American cornets by '52.

Just my observations.
_________________
huntman10
Collector/Player of Fine (and not so fine) Brass Instruments including
Various Strads, Yammies, Al Hirt Courtois, Schilkes,
Selmer 25, Getzen Eternas, Kanstuls (920 Pic, CG)
Martin Custom Large Bore, Lots Olds!, Conns, etc.

[rhjimmy]

That's the horn I bought... I see the stop rod bracket - I think the rod is in the case. Looks like the bracket at the other end is missing... we'll see when the horn gets here next week.

Maybe eastern European, it's hard to say. In 1952, most of that area was under the thumb of Stalin's Russia and various communist puppet regimes, and were just rebuilding after WWII. The US was in the throws of the Korean War too. I wonder if the US Government would have had contracts with instrument manufacturers from that part of the world at that time, with anti-communist sentiment being as high as it was. I wouldn't have any idea how to find that out. I'm curious to see what kind of quality the instrument is.

Thanks very much for the input. I'll post an update when I get it and clean it up a bit. Vintage horns fascinate me. Some are such works of art!
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Schilke B1
Bach 180S37
Holton MF Horn
DEG Caravelle Classic 69S
Bach 183 Flugelhorn
1940 York Custom Model Cornet
1958 Symphonic Cornet
Kanstul 731 Cornet
Savannah Wind Symphony

[Dale Proctor]

Looks similar to an Olds Special cornet.
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"Brass bands are all very well in their place - outdoors and several miles away ." - Sir Thomas Beecham

[rhjimmy]

Other than some cosmetic differences, you’re right, they are very similar. I looked through lots of pics of cornets the last day or two. The fixed 3d slide ring with the separate lyre bracket is one of the tells that I can’t match to anything else. There is also a reenforcement on the inside curve of the tuning slide that is pretty unique.

Thanks for the suggestion!
_________________
Schilke B1
Bach 180S37
Holton MF Horn
DEG Caravelle Classic 69S
Bach 183 Flugelhorn
1940 York Custom Model Cornet
1958 Symphonic Cornet
Kanstul 731 Cornet
Savannah Wind Symphony

[rhjimmy]

Now that I have the cornet, I can see the engraved year is 1958, not 1952. There is an interesting (to me) discussion at Brasspedia (https://brasspedia.com/index.php?title=Julius_Keilwerth_brass_instruments#Keilwerth_brass_instrument_production)
that discusses a trumpet made by Keilwerth that has essentially the same bell engraving, except that it is a "Tone King", not a "Symphonic." The number engraved next to PO USA on that one is 3298, whereas mine is 3297. huntman10 may well be correct about an eastern Europe manufacture.

Now that I have it, the bell has a few small dents, and the silver plate is worn off the bottom of the valve caps. Inside, the valves look brand new. It is a very lively little horn that is a lot of fun to play. It's a little gem that is well worth shining up and taking to a rehearsal.
_________________
Schilke B1
Bach 180S37
Holton MF Horn
DEG Caravelle Classic 69S
Bach 183 Flugelhorn
1940 York Custom Model Cornet
1958 Symphonic Cornet
Kanstul 731 Cornet
Savannah Wind Symphony

[GordonH]

Just for interest, and if anyone ever comes looking for this info, Boosey and Hawkes made models marked "Symphonis" int he 1920's. They were just the same instruments as their brass band ones but built in low pitch (so the same as the ones they were selling in overseas markets like the USA). Pretty rare to see them, but I do occasionally.
_________________
Bb - Scherzer 8218W, Schilke S22, Bach 43, Selmer 19A Balanced
Pic - Weril
Flugel - Courtois 154
Cornet - Geneva Heritage, Conn 28A
Mouthpieces - Monette 1-5 rims and similar.

Licensed Radio Amateur - GM4SVM

[rhjimmy]

I had the "Symphonic" cornet into a repair shop in Savannah and they took care of all the small dents, did a good interior scrub and shine job. The little horn looks and plays awesome! A Bach 1.5C cornet mouthpiece seems to fit the receiver nicely and gives it a very sweet tone. It's high pitch, but has plenty of slide to pull it down to A440.
_________________
Schilke B1
Bach 180S37
Holton MF Horn
DEG Caravelle Classic 69S
Bach 183 Flugelhorn
1940 York Custom Model Cornet
1958 Symphonic Cornet
Kanstul 731 Cornet
Savannah Wind Symphony