Antique Musical Instruments/Unknown year J.W. Pepper Cornet

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Expert: - 3/23/2010


Question

J.W. Pepper Cornet
Hello. Recently I found a vintage J.W. Pepper Cornet on Ebay. I am not looking for an appraisal, but I would like to know a little more about the instrument and its history before I make a decision.

The horn itself is in relatively poor condition, with a split in the lead pipe, and a large dent in the back bend, among other various issues. I know a little about the J.W. horns, specifically that the early models were produced in Philadelphia and that the later models were mostly imports. But with this horn I'm not particularly sure. The serial reads 34946, and it isn't on Horn-u-Copia, thus I'm having trouble identifying it. The cornet is a J.W. Pepper "American Favorite" (not an & Son) which has led me to believe that it is in fact an earlier U.S. - built horn. The engravings on the bell and pipe are somewhat complex, the lacquer is worn and will need to be refinished. Ultimately what I'd like to know is:

1. Is it a legitimate J.W. Pepper horn (built in the U.S. before the import era)?

2. What year could the horn possibly be?

3. What kind of sound quality and intonation are these horns known for?

4. Would restoring the horn be a wise decision?

If you need any more information at all please feel free to contact me.

Answer
It is likely from the 1890s.  Pepper did so many variations to supply all the horns he needed.  He seemed to find ways to avoid marking the country of origin on the horns he imported.  I suspect, though not prove, that he may have basically imported the horns, but did some final assembly in his plant.  Because of the quantity of imports in his product line, they don't command a lot of value today.  I wouldn't recommend restoring it.  

Antique Musical Instruments

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Kenton Scott

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Please note: My area is BRASS instruments, not other wind, string or percussion instruments. I will provide information on antique, obscure and out of production BRASS instruments. 1) Please don't ask for evaluations, I'll not provide them on this site. 2) I am often asked very similar questions, so I'd invite you to first check on Horn-u-Copia.net. Much of the information I have garnered about this topic, I have posted on this WEB site.

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I perform in several historical bands, have informally researched the area, repair brass instruments, and operate a Forum dedicated to the topic at http://horn-u-copia.net

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B.S. Ed, M.S.

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