Other trumpets with hexagonal valve casings
Below is an overview of other trumpets with hexagonal valve casings, a continuation of the articles about the Arigra and the Exakta.
Boosey and Hawkes New Century
A trumpet with hexagonal valves, valve caps and bottoms, an edgy pinky ring and lightning flash braces. The engraving says New Century Boosey & Hawkes Ltd 295 Regent Street, London W 1. Probably made in the 1930's (in any case after the merger of Boosey and Hawkes in 1930). It does not have the normal, and well documented B&H serial number. Nor are the valves numbered (with the serial) as they normally are on instruments from this company. In 2012 a British seller of a New Century has contacted Bradley Strauchen, a curator at the Horniman Museum where they keep all the B&H records, they have been unable to find any direct reference to the instrument at all and no trace of its manufacture. They both felt that it looked similar to models being produced in Czechoslovakia in the early thirties. Conn in the US had also brought out a tight wrap trumpet at this time so it was a bit of a fashion thing. They also felt that the date of manufacture is almost certainly the 1930's.
Conn Vocabell
Then there's one other famous art deco trumpet from the thirties that has to be mentioned, the Conn 40b Vocabell, produced between 1932 and 1941 by Conn in Elkhart, USA. Octagonal valve casings, and many of them have a fine art deco engraving.
Conn 40B Vocabell, 1932 sr.nr. 287706
King Silvertone
Another trumpet known for it's art deco engraving is the King Silvertone. Here's one from the early thirties.
King Silvertone sr.nr.: 157.xxx ca 1933
Engraving close up
