Selmer Paris Louis Armstrong

Trodriguez · Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2017 10:43 pm Post subject: Selmer Paris Louis Armstrong

Selmer Paris Louis Armstrong Special...Anyone know much about these earlier horns and have an idea what they may be worth. ??? Thanks Tom,[/img]

TheBrassBandMajor · Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2017 11:13 pm Post subject:

I am not sure but the tale is that King George V gave Louis Armstrong a Gold Plated Selmer Trumpet.

Louis was a real switcher. He used a lot of mouthpieces and used a lot of horns. He used Selmer, possibly Holton, EMO by Modl and etc.
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HERMOKIWI · Heavyweight Member Joined: 24 Dec 2008 Posts: 2581

Louis played a Selmer balanced trumpet beginning in 1933 and continued to play that model as his primary instrument for the rest of his career. The "Louis Armstrong Special" was a name Selmer gave to their balanced model 19A in 1933. The horns were engraved "Louis Armstrong Special." Sometime later Selmer marketed it simply as their model 19A and it did not have the "Louis Armstrong Special" designation or engraving.

The model 19A engraved "Louis Armstrong Special" and the model 25A (.472 bore made specially for Harry James) are the most valuable models. The next most valuable would be the model 19A without the "Louis Armstrong Special" engraving.

In pristine condition, including the original case, any Selmer balanced trumpet is worth $2,000+. Value diminishes as condition diminishes.
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FHernandez · New Member Joined: 28 Mar 2017 Posts: 2

Does serial number play a roll on the value of this model trumpet?

Danbassin · Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2017 2:03 pm Post subject:

bixtone · Veteran Member Joined: 04 May 2007 Posts: 162

I own a Louis Armstrong Special ca 1933. Louis' earliest Selmer was actually the Selmer Challenger which he acquired in 1932, the "Louis Armstrong Special" name came along afterwards when he endorsed Selmer horns. There were no numbers (ie 19a) used until later. My horn has no numbers stamped on the receiver, only the bore size ("MB").

Value of course varies according to condition and finish level. I have several friends who own Armstrong specials and the finish varies from raw brass to silver to gold plating. Some of the horns were also made in high pitch (stamped "HP" on the reciever) and that can affect the value. One recently in raw brass sold for around $1000 on Ebay.

Probably the rarest of the early Balanced Selmers is the Nat Gonella Special, which is an ML bore version of the Armstrong horn with different finger hooks and valve caps.
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