Unknown Maker (poss. Rudolph Wurlitzer)

This unique cornet features no maker's markings, leaving its true origin a fascinating mystery. Its design is exceptionally rare due to the diagonal line-up of the valve ports; so far, I have not been able to find another identical specimen anywhere. However, a model that looks very, very similar appears in the 1893 Catalogue of the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company. I am 90% convinced it is the same model, but because Wurlitzer mostly imported their instruments from Europe rather than manufacturing them at the time, the real artisan remains unknown.

When this cornet arrived, it was completely unplayable due to a missing valve guide. Because this specific type is no longer commonly available in modern times, I hand-fashioned a replacement from plastic. While not visually perfect, it successfully restored the mechanism. The horn was also missing its spit valve port, so I used a simple layer of tape to seal the hole and maintain airtightness.

The acoustics of this instrument present their own puzzle. With the accompanying short—and likely non-original—tuning bit and the regular main tuning slide, it plays in the uncommon key of D. A standard modern bit has it playing in C#, which strongly indicates this is a historic High Pitch instrument. By using an even longer modern A-bit, it can be brought into modern C. While combinations with the longer slide can theoretically adapt it to C, B, and B♭, the intonation becomes highly problematic because the 1st and 3rd slides are frozen and cannot be adjusted.