Holton – Vintage Brasswinds Australia

Holton-Clarke Miracle Model [Long] Cornet

near mint – an extraordinarily beautiful instrument
gold plate
1919-1920 manufacture: from the Holton Chicago/ early Elkhorn era at a time that Holton was a major supplier of instruments to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
reverse leadpipe
large bore
Bb instrument with quick change to A
the “loop” which could be placed on the bell side [exit side] or the mouthpipe side [entry] – or both as with some Harry B. Jay cornets of that era – is visible on the entry side
Sixteen and one-half inches in length with a bell four and one-half inches in diameter

Wikipedia says of the “Clarke” who gives this cornet its model name

Herbert Lincoln Clarke (September 12, 1867 – January 30, 1945) was an American cornetist, feature soloist, bandmaster, and composer. He is considered the most prominent cornetist of his time.^[1]

Clarke’s legacy includes composing a portion of the standard repertoire for the instrument, many recordings, as well as a seminal school of playing which emphasized not only technical aptitude, but also increased warmth and lyricism of tone. He also produced several method books that are still used by brass students.

Clarke [who is also somewhat notorious for having written in 1921 to a young Elden Benge that the trumpet as distinct from the cornet was merely a “foreign fad”] hailed from Toronto Canada, on the American Great Lakes: this cornet is engraved as a Toronto delivery cornet sold by the Canadian Holton agent, and was produced by Holton after Holton’s move to Elkhorn circa 1919-1920 [according to the serial number on the valve block and the matching serial numbers on each valve.

Recently [Feb 2025] I took this Holton Miracle Cornet, along with a Martin Deluxe cornet, and a 1918 Conn New Wonder cornet to two hours of band practice. Holton’s 100 year old claims of perfect pitch, instant effortless switching from fortissimo to pianissimo, superb tone, easy blowing, and enormous flexibility still hold good for this instrument.

Tone is warm and feel is responsive and lyrical

Exceptional Holton Revelation trombone

Fantastic engraving on gold

Intricate floral bell engraving – with a butterfly on each side

Showing part of the engraving against the open case

Shows the deep Holton 40 mouthpiece, the counterbalance mounted on the tuning slide, and the handslide with patent marking and the Revelation stamp

The engraving extends right along the bell – surrounding the Revelation name and manufacturing details – and the outside face of the bell is engraved as well

Despite the obvious wear in some places the overall effect is stunning

The horn is marked L.P. = low pitch and has a “3” which ordinarily means large bore: however some Holton catalogs referred to bore of “4”.

Has the original Holton 40 deep mouthpiece. With this mouthpiece [the only one I have tried it with] slotting is excellent, and high notes are attainable.

Photographs show that this has seen plenty of use and shows typical finish wear, with some dinging/denting in some areas of the bell section, but the horn is solid and straight. The not particularly well done solder repair on the bell stay near the slide is obvious, [photo below] as is the tape on the slide handle. The unevenness on the bell could be worked through by a competent brass tech

The slide moves extremely freely without dragging and does not appear to have high points or dings. is pretty good, but – with this much potential as a great horn – could do with attention from a brass tech.

The period case – complete with Holton badge and one out of three working latch and hinges – shows a lot of wear and is in only fair condition. Handle is disintegrating.

Friction fit slide/bell attaches well and feels solid

I have seen many Holton Revelation trombones, but not one with the rare finish of this one which – from the serial number – was manufactured in about 1926. The probability is that this was a custom engraving for a professional trombone player.

Frank Holton was firstly an artist on trombone, and the first Holton promoter. Holton sales literature from the 1920s noted that Holton always kept a trombone at his desk to play for guests and promote his products.