Early Besson Cornet, Number 3

This Besson cornet with serial number “3” stamped on mouthpipe receiver and all of the original shanks and crooks was most likely made before 1849. This statement is based on the research by Niles Eldredge and Josh Landress of all known early Besson instruments. It was made while Gustave Besson was still in his 20s, but already a very accomplished maker and making design innovations. He had just started numbering his instruments. He had been successfully making brass instruments under his own name for about six years and had just married Florentine Ridoux. More Besson history can be found in “Gustave Besson, his Factories and Family”.

While it was found in a very rough state, it is mostly complete, missing only the original mouthpiece. Remarkably, the valve pistons have never been damaged and it is in fairly good playing condition. It is playable in Bb and A with the shanks, Ab, G, F and Eb with the crooks. In addition, the coupler extends the F crook to E natural and the Eb crook to D.

While the bell is stamped with “Brevetés” (Patented, plural), it pre-dates any patents known to have been granted to Besson. Perhaps it refers to the patent granted to François Périnet in 1839 for this piston valve design, which was expired by the time that this instrument was made. There are no known examples of cornets with these valves made during the currency of the five year patent, although they were licensed to a Paris valve maker supplying them to several makers. This suggests a lack of demand for the new design. Indeed, most Bb cornets with Périnet valves made in Paris up until the early 1850s were generally of this design, with the main tubing mimicking the shape of the cornets (cornopeans) with Stoelzel valves.

The early history of piston valves of these two types is covered very thoroughly in both “On the Early History of the Périnet Valve” by Mitroulia, Dumoulin and Eldredge, published in volume 61 of The Galpin Society Journal and Trumpets and Other High Brass, volume 4 by Sabine Klaus.

This is another very important cornet from the collection of Tom Meacham. It is 11 3/8” long, the bell rim diameter is 5” and the bore through the valves is .462”, tuning slide .450”. Comparing the bell taper and flare, it is much smaller than later Besson cornets.