Boston Williams Model Cornet

I’ve been researching The Boston Musical Instrument Manufactory, somewhat obsessively, for over 30 years. I first assembled a dated serial number list long before I had internet access and the list that you find on several internet sites today are not much improved since 1989. I mention this to help explain how surprised I was to learn of a cornet model that I had never known anything about previously. I’ve found no catalog or advertising that mention this model. This was found in the basement of the previous owner after he had died of Covid-19 and the family had no knowledge of how he got it or when. Then, to my surprise, I learned of another, belonging to Niles Eldredge, that was at Josh Landress’ shop in New York. Both were made in 1904.

Ernest Williams was a very well known cornet soloist, although more famous as a band leader, composer and teacher of trumpet and cornet. Most trumpet and cornet players today know the name from “The Ernest S. Williams Modern Method for Trumpet or Cornet”, first published in 1936. This method book is still in print and probably the third most popular method for trumpet and cornet after those by Jean-Baptiste Arban and Herbert L. Clarke. In the 1920s he established the very highly regarded Ernest Williams School of Music in New York City and its well known summer camp in the Catskills.

Click on photos for larger views.

This cornet was given by Williams to John Morley Flockton, Jr when new in 1904. I was able to learn that Flockton’s father, who emigrated from Yorkshire, England shortly before his son was born in 1849 or 1850, was a cornet soloist and leader of “Flockton’s Poughkeepsie Cornet Band” before the Civil War. John M Flockton, Sr volunteered as leader of the band of the 67th infantry and his 12 year old son joined him two months later to play drums in his band. By the late 1870s, John Jr had married and moved to Salem, Massachusetts to lead the Salem Cadet Band.

On May 21, 1878, during an exhibition of Thomas Edison’s tin foil phonograph at the Essex Institute in Salem, John Flockton was recorded playing a solo, which was then played back for the audience. Jules Levy has always been reported as being the first to record a cornet solo, “Yankee Doodle” and variations, but it was actually done in June about a month after Flockton’s recording.

At least two cornet solos, written by other composers were dedicated to John M. Flockton, Jr. including “Flocktonian Polka” by J. O. Casey in the 1880s.

In 1881, he was a founding member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, although playing double bass. In 1892, he published “Practical Method for the Double Bass”, which remained in print long after his death in 1917.

I have not been able to find any connection between Flockton and Williams, other than that they were both living and working in Boston during the first decade of the 20th century. Flockton was Williams’ senior by more than 21 years, but they were both very active in musical circles around the time that this cornet was made. Please let me know if you have any details to add.

This cornet is both very similar to and different than the famous Three Star Cornet. Most notable is that it has a fixed mouthpipe, and this was at least five years before the Three Star was offered this way. When the later versions of the Three Star were made, they had a dedicated slide to tune to A. Judging by the slots in the original case, it would have had a slide for high pitch and possibly one with a rotary valve quick change to A as was supplied with Three Star Cornets during this time. Interestingly, they made the fixed mouthpipe the same as the later examples, which copied the dimensions of the removable shank versions. By this I mean that the first 3 inches after the mouthpiece receiver is cylindrical and the rest has the same taper.

The next notable difference is the positions of the valve ports. The fourth photo shows a standard Three Star above The Williams Model. These are similar to those in the Courtois cornets from the previous 50 years and very similar to the original Perinet piston valves first made in the late 1830s. The various soloist model Courtois cornets, such as Arban, Levy, Arbuckle etc. all has similar valves, although in smaller bore sizes. I also noticed the socket on the inside of the third slide that must be for some sort of tuning device, although close examination indicates that it was added much later.

The details that are the same as the Three Star Cornets is the bore, .475” and the bell appears to be made on the same mandrel, although with a slightly smaller rim diameter at 4 11/16” and the same over all length at 12 9/16”. It had been re-plated at some time in the past, but fortunately, the engraving doesn’t show a lot of wear.