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AUSTRO-BOHEMIAN HAND HORN with 5 crooks and 3 couplers
£1,300.00
A rare and interesting vintage Austro-Bohemian hand
horn with several original and modern reproduction
crooks and couplers giving all keys
from C alto to Bb basso:
F, Eb, D, Bb alto and C alto crooks
Small, medium and double couplers
Dating from the mid-19th century, it is possibly the
'bass horn' that is mentioned on page 22 of 'THE NEW
LANGWILL INDEX'.
There is no way of knowing whether the name plate
soldered onto the flare near the bell rim,
bearing the 'BAUER' stamp, is a later
addition to this unsigned horn, perhaps a relic of
an older instrument.
Its three 'original' crooks, in F, Eb and Bb alto
are in quite good, 'much used' condition.
The 3 newer, 'repro' couplers (small, medium and large/
double coil) are in good condition, as are the Nicholas
Perry 'repro' D crook and the C-alto straight shank.
The horn body is also in 'much
used' condition, showing evidence of repairs,
patches and a few cracks (hermetically sealed by solder or
clear lacquer) in the rather fragile brass of the bell flare.
The very wide tuning slide 'fully in' gives a pitch of about A
441, and is long enough to go as low as A 430 when fully
extended. It is similar to that on the much-copied
Prague horn maker Franz Stöhr's horn, described in the
Fitzpatrick book on page 146, and broadly copied by the UK
maker John Webb from 1989 to 2014.
This free-blowing, full-sounding horn seems appropriate
for 2nd/4th playing, although its high register is quite
useable via a well-placed 'middle of the throat' hand
position. Generally, the horn's rather fragile condition
needs sensitive and careful physical handling, therefore,
this is reflected in its inexpensive price.
The photos can be viewed in greater detail
by opening and saving them.
Halstead Music acts as an agent only,
accepting no responsibility as a principal.
Red Dragon I.T. Ltd.