Intricate floral bell engraving – with a butterfly on each sideShowing part of the engraving against the open caseHolton badge on the caseShows the deep Holton 40 mouthpiece, the counterbalance mounted on the tuning slide, and the handslide with patent marking and the Revelation stampThe engraving extends right along the bell – surrounding the Revelation name and manufacturing details – and the outside face of the bell is engraved as wellDespite the obvious wear in some places the overall effect is stunning Butterfly detail
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.
[from the Holton catalog at www.brasstacks.de ]The most usual mid 1920s Holton Revelation silver finish
Swiss trumpet – extraordinary “Jackson Super “- compact fitted original case, mute, music stand, and Vega mouthpiece Superb engraving has both matt and smooth finish – From the style it could be from the mid 1930s to the early 1950s, but there is no serial number.
This trumpet – which would be at home in a decorative arts museum – came from a professional trumpet player in Switzerland, who after describing it as an incredibly beautiful vintage trumpet, [ he thought it looked like a Buescher or a vintage Conn, and he attributed the region of manufacture as United States] said – “The cosmetic condition is amazing! No dents, no dings, no scratches, no signs of wear at all!! It looks as if the trumpet has never been used and slept quietly in its case for the last almost hundred years!! Look at the beautiful engraving, look at the perfect silky silver plating and all the charming details at the valve-casing as well the decorations on the slides. The valves are working perfectly and all slides are free and easy to move……” and “The horn has the brilliant sound of the small-bore-horns of the early 20th century. It also has great intonation as well as a full range of sound from lowest whispering to highest screaming! A real collectors item!”
All of these comments are absolutely right, except that there are two micro-dings on the bell bow.
However when you take into account that this is engraved – “Jackson Super Deposed [and further down – just above the rim] Kofmann Geneve 12 Tour Maitresse” it is not open to treat this as an American instrument. The word “Deposed” is perhaps an anglicised version of déposé – registered
The case has an enamel badge – “Kofmann & Engel Modern Music S.A. 12 Rue Tour Maitresse Geneve”
There has been some trumpet group discussion about this instrument, and its perceived similarity to Victory trumpets, which included speculation that it was Czech / German made by F.X. Huller [predecessor to Modl/EMO] or Huttl. One contributor – from Victoria Australia – made the comment –
“As to the “Jackson”, I suspect it is a copy of something (what I don’t know), rather than a stencil. My cynical mind made me think it looked too good to be true ..”
For no better reason than the fact that the engraving is extremely reminiscent of a trumpet previously in my possession which was made by Meister Otto Meinel of Klingenthal, I think it may be a Meinel. I’ve searched far and wide [internet, New Langwill Index, etc] for more clarity, and I’d love to hear from anyone who knows more or knows better. An Australian trumpet fancier wrote – “I searched digitalised Swiss newspapers and could find only a few advertisements for the company in Geneva, (Modern Music SA) from 1944 and 1945 – nothing apart from that. There was an advertisement in 1948, however, offering for sale a second-hand trumpet, brand-name Jackson (this was in French, in the newspaper La Liberte.) Given that sort of date, I would think that either Harold Jackson or Jack Jackson would be about the only candidates for the name Jackson – and of course, it could actually be both. There were radio broadcasts of Jack Jackson and his band to Switzerland in the late 1930s, and Harold Jackson was a well-known cornettist and trumpeter (solo cornet for the Black Dyke Mills Band in the 1930s “ He also suggests that this might possibly be an Eggers trumpet, pointing out . – Adolf Egger established his firm in 1940 in Switzerland and made trumpets and other brass instruments – so could this be an Adolf Egger trumpet? (Nowadays he is better known for baroque trumpets, but he also produced modern trumpets.
My best guess as to the maker remains Meister Otto Meinel, but the provenance remains elusive. But on all the tangible tests of vintage trumpets, this masterpiece is absolutely sensational as a looker and as a player.
