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dwgib
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Joined: 25 Mar 2023
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 Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2023 12:52 pm Post subject: My latest acquisition 1920's Tonk Sterling sn 13 |
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According to a 1966 Life magazine interview with Louis Armstrong, this was the 1st brand horn he bought in a pawn shop for $10 in 1919. This one cost me $70, (inflation).
https://www.madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/tonk-bros/
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Olds Super('54)
Conn Military Spec('32)
Conn 22B('24;'41)
Holton Military 48('51)
Holton 45 ('47)
Pan American 66B('31)
King Liberty('25,'29,'34 Silvertone)
Martin Imperial('64)
Tonk Sterling('19)
H.B.Jay Columbia('19) |
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OldSchoolEuph
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Joined: 07 Apr 2012
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| Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2023 4:56 pm Post subject: |
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Is that even a cornet? It looks more like a Tonk trumpet.
There are 3 competing "louis Armstrong first horn"s. One is in the Louisiana State Museum, and was one of his horns, probably his second. The next is in the Louis Armstrong Home Museum, and is likely the true first. The last, is a fraud which the Smithsonian paid an absurd amount of our tax dollars to procure as the horn he purportedly played while in Juvenile Detention, except he was incarcerated in 1914, and that horn is marked Czechoslovakia, a state that came into existence in 1918. Sadly the US government is trying to hide this waste of our money by displaying that horn everywhere, but it cant escape the fact it was made not less than 4 years after he supposedly would have played it.
None of them look like this.
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Ron Berndt
www.trumpet-history.com
2017 Austin Winds Stage 466
1962 Mt. Vernon Bach 43
1954 Holton 49 Stratodyne
1927 Conn 22B
1957 Holton 27 cornet
1985 Yamaha YEP-621
1975 Yamaha YEP-321 Custom
1965 Besson Baritone
1975 Olds Recording R-20 |
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dwgib
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| Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2023 5:32 pm Post subject: |
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| OldSchoolEuph wrote: | Is that even a cornet? It looks more like a Tonk trumpet.
There are 3 competing "louis Armstrong first horn"s. One is in the Louisiana State Museum, and was one of his horns, probably his second. The next is in the Louis Armstrong Home Museum, and is likely the true first. The last, is a fraud which the Smithsonian paid an absurd amount of our tax dollars to procure as the horn he purportedly played while in Juvenile Detention, except he was incarcerated in 1914, and that horn is marked Czechoslovakia, a state that came into existence in 1918. Sadly the US government is trying to hide this waste of our money by displaying that horn everywhere, but it cant escape the fact it was made not less than 4 years after he supposedly would have played it.
None of them look like this. |
I said this was the first "brand" he owned, bought at his uncles pawn shop, and that is from a direct interview with him. I don't know how there could be competing 1st horns when he actually said his 1st one was a Tonk cornet. Also in that same interview, he said his second was given to him by Joe Oliver was a York. He stated in the article that he rented horns before he bought that 1st Tonk.
Here's a quote from the article:
“Armstrong’s memory appears so vivid that he even recalled the name of the obscure company who made the horn: “It was a Tonk Brothers — ain’t never heard of them.” He then goes on to tell of how his mentor, Joe “King” Oliver got so sick of looking at the beat up Tonk Brothers horn that he gave Armstrong his old York model Cornet.”
And he didn't always play cornets, but he did state it was a Tonk cornet and a York cornet. When I saw him play at Constitution Hall in 1967 he was playing a trumpet
_________________
Olds Super('54)
Conn Military Spec('32)
Conn 22B('24;'41)
Holton Military 48('51)
Holton 45 ('47)
Pan American 66B('31)
King Liberty('25,'29,'34 Silvertone)
Martin Imperial('64)
Tonk Sterling('19)
H.B.Jay Columbia('19)
Last edited by dwgib on Mon Apr 24, 2023 5:45 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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lipshurt
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Location: vista ca
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| Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2023 5:43 pm Post subject: |
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I made a pretty nice D trumpet with a Yamaha medium bore valve block and using a tonk bell. Bell had a good sound. Still have the bell. Small and bright
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www.meeuwsenmouthpieces.com
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dwgib
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| Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2023 5:55 pm Post subject: |
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| lipshurt wrote: | | I made a pretty nice D trumpet with a Yamaha medium bore valve block and using a tonk bell. Bell had a good sound. Still have the bell. Small and bright |
It does sound good, and is in surprisingly good shape for a 100yo trumpet that's been knocking around without a case, only 1 real dent. Valves are top internally sprung, kinda slow, but likely the springs are weak. I'm of an understanding that it's a stencil, but can't figure out whose yet as they supposedly imported a lot at 1st, then owned Courtier factory for a short time in the 20's.
I've thought about doing similar things, mix and match. May try it if I get any beyond my repair.
_________________
Olds Super('54)
Conn Military Spec('32)
Conn 22B('24;'41)
Holton Military 48('51)
Holton 45 ('47)
Pan American 66B('31)
King Liberty('25,'29,'34 Silvertone)
Martin Imperial('64)
Tonk Sterling('19)
H.B.Jay Columbia('19) |
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OldSchoolEuph
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Joined: 07 Apr 2012
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| Posted: Tue Apr 25, 2023 6:05 am Post subject: |
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[quote="dwgib"] | lipshurt wrote: | | then owned Courtier factory for a short time in the 20's. |
I have to talk to Kenton about that line on Horn-u-copia. 1923 was when Couturier sold his operation to Lyon & Healy, not Tonk as the entry implies. It was actually 1928 that Lyon & Healy sold their distribution network to Tonk, but sold the plant and band instrument manufacturing that had been Couturier to Holton, which made the first Collegiates in LaPorte in 1928.
_________________
Ron Berndt
www.trumpet-history.com
2017 Austin Winds Stage 466
1962 Mt. Vernon Bach 43
1954 Holton 49 Stratodyne
1927 Conn 22B
1957 Holton 27 cornet
1985 Yamaha YEP-621
1975 Yamaha YEP-321 Custom
1965 Besson Baritone
1975 Olds Recording R-20 |
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dwgib
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Joined: 25 Mar 2023
Posts: 280
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| Posted: Thu Apr 27, 2023 4:02 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | I have to talk to Kenton about that line on Horn-u-copia. 1923 was when Couturier sold his operation to Lyon & Healy, not Tonk as the entry implies |
Yeah, likely is a mistake, even the Made in Chicago Museum's page https://www.madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/tonk-bros/
only mentions the Lyon & Healy purchase in 1928, nothing about 1923. I do believe this may be theirs or a Hoiton stencil as it's similar to the 1st Collegiates in build. Also very similar to my H.B. Jay in build. But their was so much incest in the musical instrument community back then, hard to tell. HB Jay was using Holton valves for some. Makes sense though for the smaller companies to acquire parts that required a high degree of tooling like valves and valve bodies to get them from a specialty company (like I read that for a while I think it was Holton, started off just making valves) or a larger company like Conn or Lyon & Healy, which was biggest in US until the depression hit.
_________________
Olds Super('54)
Conn Military Spec('32)
Conn 22B('24;'41)
Holton Military 48('51)
Holton 45 ('47)
Pan American 66B('31)
King Liberty('25,'29,'34 Silvertone)
Martin Imperial('64)
Tonk Sterling('19)
H.B.Jay Columbia('19) |
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