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Boosey & Hawkes and Besson History



 
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krax
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Joined: 22 Apr 2007
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Location: Hofors, Sweden

PostPosted: Thu Oct 21, 2021 8:03 am    Post subject: Boosey & Hawkes and Besson History Reply with quote

Suddenly I found a doctoral thesis from 2016 on the history of Boosey & Hawkes while researching my two B&H Imperial Mk 9 FVA "23" trumpets (I like that long name). Might interest some of you, most if not all models they made are mentioned and discussed briefly.

https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/16081/1/Howell%2C%20Jocelyn%20Vol%201%20%28Redacted%29.pdf

I quote the summary of the acquisition by B&H of Besson as that is something that has casued some disputes over the years:

"The acquisition of Besson by B&H was, in effect, a lengthy and gradual
process from mutual affiliation to complete integration. There are a number of
different aspects and stages of the merger which make it difficult to give a definite date of acquisition. The sudden recognition in 1944 of existing shareholders as nominees with a majority, the removal of Besson production to Edgware in 1948, the consolidation of product lines from 1950, and the corporate majority shareholding of B&H in 1957 are all significant. However, Besson remained a separate organisation with its own directors until 1968, when B&H purchased the remaining shares, thus achieving total ownership."
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Liberty Lips
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Joined: 12 Dec 2003
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 21, 2021 10:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That’s a very interesting paper. It’s curious, though, that when Kanstul was mentioned it was placed in "Long Beach, Los Angeles" even though the footnote referred to the article announcing the Kanstul Besson in MusicTrades which correctly places the Kanstul factory in Fullerton, California:

"All the Besson and B&H top range trumpets and flugel horns were replaced by the American-made F. Besson ‘Meha’ and ‘Brevette’ ranges owing to the growing demand in America for pre-World War II French Besson trumpets. The ‘Meha’ models, originally named for Auguste Besson’s granddaughter, were manufactured in America by Kanstul for B&H Buffet Crampon Inc. in Long Beach, Los Angeles from January 1982."
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krax
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Joined: 22 Apr 2007
Posts: 680
Location: Hofors, Sweden

PostPosted: Fri Oct 22, 2021 4:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This was the accepted version, hopefully she got it right in the final paper. Apparently she's a clarinettist and Kanstul might have been a bit off the radar to her.
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