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Arigra - I got this trumpet from Eric Totman who estimates its date of manufacture to be the 1930's. According to Eric, ARIGRA was a trade name use by Anton Riedl and is an acronym for "A. Riedl Graslitz". Anton specialized in valves and bells starting in 1885 and was joined by his son in 1931. I believe Graslitz is the city in Czechoslovakia where he built these unique horns.

Arigra - This is a different model.  It has a solid valve casing and is raw brass.  It has some damage to the bell.

Bach Stradivarius Model 37 ML - I've had this one since the 11th grade. I recently had the leadpipe replaced with a Blackburn 19-348. It's the original silver plating (except on the leadpipe) but could use to be replated soon.

Bach Stradivarius Model 37 ML - Believe it or not, I bought the trumpet in a pawn shop in Georgia for $60. I spent another $300 in replating and the result (I think) is a beautiful instrument. I played on this horn for 7 years and it still looks great.

Bach Stradivarius Model 43 ML - I got this one so I could compare the sound against my 37's. Still debating.

Bach Stradivarius Model 72L -

Blessing ML-1 - FOR SALE $550 - The ML-1 features superb intonation, outstanding tone quality and is extremely free blowing. Other features include hand lapped non-corrosive pistons and slides that are specially hand fitted and lapped, made up of nickel silver inner tubes and and brass outer tubes.

Other Great Features

Buescher TrueTone Bb/A - This Buescher has gold around the engraving, on the bell, and a gold wash inside the bell. The ends of the slides are also gold plated. There is a tuning rotor to change the pitch from Bb to A. This horn dates from around 1926.

Buescher TrueTone Copper Bell - This is a really interresting piece in my opinion because of the copper bell. Unfortunately, all the valves are stuck so I can't play it to see how it sounds. I'll eventually 'unstuck' 'em. This horn dates from around 1925.

Buescher TrueTone (rough) - This one actually looked worse when I got it than it does now. I've stripped off the laquer with laquer removed that I purchased at Home Depot. A little brass polish and I think this will be a beautiful horn. I'll post before and after pictures once I get around to finishing it. This horn dates from around 1939.

Buescher TrueTone Bb/A - Similar to the other Bb/A Buescher I have listed above except this one is in raw brass and doesn't have a right hand pinkie hook. This horn dates from around 1925.

Cavalier -

Conn Eb Trumpet -

Unknown Conn Model - Christine at The ConnLoyalist thinks this may be a 22B, 24B, 26B or 28B but not sure. The 2nd valve slide is at 90 degreed to the valve which is unique for these model numbers. She thinks that this may be an early version of one of the model numbers listed. The serial number dates it around 1921.

Conn 4B - I think

Conn 24B - I believe this to be a 24B based on a similar trumpet I found on Paul Ayick's site.

Conn 10B New Era - This horn has a gold finish, and I think it's one of the most beautiful horn's I've seen. They were produced between 1931 and 1940 with this horn being produced around 1932. The engraving goes from the bell all the way back to the bend. My pictures don't do this one justice.

Conn 12B with Coprion Bell - This 'New York Symphony' Model was produced between 1938 - 1955. The serial number on this horn dates it to 1954. Unfortunately this horn shows a lot of wear. They are really nice looking instruments.

Conn 18B with Coprion Bell - Although severly abused, this is still a neat horn. They were produced from 1954 to 1960. The serial number on this horn dates it to 1956.

Conn 22B -

Conn 40B - This is another 'voca bell' models that Conn made. This one is the "peashooter" style that was popular during the day. This horn was made in 1934. It has a rimless bell that is suppose to allow for better sound resonation. The cork in the valves is breaking up, and totally disintegrated around the first valve which makes it impossible to play. So I haven't had a chance to hear this baby wail...yet!

Conn 48B - This is another 'voca bell' models that Conn made but the style is that of a modern trumpet. It also has the rimless bell and angled valves. This horn doesn't have the origional tuning slide and therefore I haven't bothered cleaning it up any yet. I don't think that's going to be an easy part to replace (just a hunch) since this horn was made in 1935. It did come with a Vincent Bach New York 10 1/2C mouthpiece.

Conn 48B - Here is a fine example of a beautiful 'voca bell'.

Getzen Alto Trumpet -

Holton - I believe this Holton dates from 1926. It has LP stamped on the receiver which I suspect stands for low pitch. It takes a trumpet mpc and I thought only cornet came in low or high pitch but I could be wrong. It has nice engraving on the bell which will look better once I've cleaned it. The bell is slightly bend and will require a little work before it can be shown in its full glory. It came with a really neat mpc that reads Lew Davis AUTOGRAPH "SUPER CUSHION-RIM" MADE IN ENGLAND. I believe he was a jazz musician in Great Britian based on a paper here. There is a L. Davis in my Langwill's from GB that worked with brass instruments in the 20's with Boosey and the 40's King Instrument Company. No mention there of a mouthpiece there either.

King Liberty - This was made my H.N.White around 1938. The bracing on the tuning slide can be removed to change the key from Bb to C. I'm not sure what happened to the bell, it looks as if someone modified it to imitate the rimless 'voca bell' models produced by Conn. However it happened, it makes this horn unique looking.

King Liberty -

Lyon & Healy - Duplex is engraved in the bell, serial 78xx.  Lyon & Healy were mainly resellers of other makes but the did produce their "own make".  Langwills reports that they "actively manufactur(ed) only 1923 - 30.  However, I've found several horns on the internet with serial numbers around this one that report around 1900.  Who knows.

Lyon & Healy - Shephards crook trumpet manufactured byF. Jaubert & Cie, Paris.  Langwill's reports  that F. Jaubert made brass instruments in Paris in the late 19th century.  The only markings other than on the bell are FRANCE on the leadpipe and the number 1 on the bottom of the second valve casing.

M. Koroit - Another mystery trumpet, it says FRANCE on the bell and doesn't have a serial number anywhere. Langwill's Index has an M.Koroit listed but he was unsure of the location and only reported an alto saxophone being produced. The bell appears to have been hand hammered giving the bell a very unique appearance. One of the valves doesn't move very easily and the 2nd valve slide will fall out if you turn the horn the right way. I'm not sure that it was a quality horn in it's day but someone expended good effort decorating it.

Marceau - Marceau, Pierre & Cie. were dealers in Paris. Marceau imported instruments from Czechoslovakia for Sears Roebuck & Co. who distributed them in the United States.

Martin Dasant Handcraft -

1929 Olds - With a serial number of 62X, this horn was made in the first year that Olds produced trumpets.

Olds Pinto - OK, not a very good horn for playing but the design is pretty innovative.  The valves work in any order, and the horn can come completely apart for cleaning.  Take a look here for some comments I've found on the Pinto.

Olds Recording - Another neat horn. The valves are aligned to more closely resemble a natural finger tip placement.

Olds Special - A neat horn, I love the two-tone bell.

Olds Mendez - Fullerton - A great horn.

Peerless - Made my Peerless Co. on Sherbourne Road in Birmingham.

Rudy Muck Balanced - A 7M I believe.  I became a fan of Rudy Muck trumpets when I saw this one. Aside from being balanced, it has some interresting characteristics like the 'art deco' style right-hand pinkie ring, a unique style of bottom valve caps and a different kind of roll on the edge of the bell. Unfortunately, I don't have much information on Rudy Muck's trumpets yet, but what I have is compiled here. I also have a comparison of an older 17C to a newer 17C here.

Rudy Muck Academy - I believe the academy model was the Rudy Muck's student line.

Rudy Muck Academy - This is another Academy model but a later version with a different bell style.

Selmer Paris - This is a neat old horn from around 1938 with a first valve trigger. The bore size and other data is encoded on the mouthpiece receiver but I forgot where I saw the chart to decode it.

The New Yorker - I have no idea who made this one but it's got a pretty cool looking design on the bell.

Vega - Advanced Triumphal - From the 20th Century Brass Musical Instruments in the United States by Richard J. Dundas, I learned that the Vega Company bought into brass instruments with the purchase of Standard Band Instrument Company in 1909. This book also shows a picture of the bell engraving shown on the next Vega below.

Vega Standard - CHAS E GEORGE - I love the engraving on this model. Although the bell is severely damaged, it still appeals to me. I'm not sure of the age of either of my Vega's as information seems scarce. The Fiske museum has a vega dated 1915. This model was named after the vice-president of Vega, Charles Emmons George.

More to come....