Title: “Gilmore” Cornet

Maker: C. G. Conn

Model: Wonder Solo

Date: 1886

Geography: Elkhart, Indiana, United States

Material: Brass

Serial Number: 12922

Accession Number: GL-014_A1-14

Provenance: Founding Greenleaf Donation from Conn Museum, 1969

Description

Key: B-flat/A

Pitch: High/Low

Finish: Gold-plated, burnished

Lacquer: TBD

Engraving: Lavishly engraved by James H. Gardner (Conn master engraver). Ornate engraving over entire instrument and accessories. See description below.

Mouthpiece: Unsigned mouthpiece with inlaid mother-of-pearl rim.

Accessories: Original display stand, lyre, mute, and drip catcher.

Case: TBD

Notes:

Created as a gift to Irish-American bandleader Patrick Gilmore (1829 - 1892) upon his retirement in c. 1892. Sadly, Gilmore died in the same year that he received this cornet.
Engraving includes James H. Gardner’s (Conn master engraver) signature on back of shepherd’s crook, and “MADE BY / C. G. CONN / ELKHART, IND.” within a cartouche.
Featured in “Elkhart's Brass Roots” exhibition of 1994 (item #9).
Description from “Elkhart's Brass Roots” exhibition catalog by Margaret Downie Banks: “Engraving includes a central oval panel featuring the head of Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore; angels playing the harp and lyre; an American eagle clutching a lyre, a herald's trumpet, a trident, arrows, and a laurel wreath; a naked woman; a village located on a body of water with mountains in the background; doves; a butterfly; roses; numerous varieties of flowers, leaves, and vines; urns; a variety of decorative devices; and, on the interior of the bell, American and European flags, shields, and stars. PAT. JUNE / 15, 1886 stamped on second valve (patent #343,888 by C. G. Conn, for Wonder valve design). Three tower-spring pistons, three guidepins each. Double water key on tuning slide with bent thumb lever accessible next to the second valve. Water reservoir with acorn-shaped finials, designed by Eugene Dupont, attached to bottom of valve cluster. Bore .465” (11.8 mm). Bell diameter 5”.” (Source: Banks, Margaret Downie. Elkhart’s Brass Roots. Shrine to Music Museum, College of Fine Arts, University of South Dakota, 1994.)
Gold-plated mute, engraved with geometric decorations and stamped “HOCH’S PAT. / C. G. Conn / Maker”. Mute includes an acorn-shaped finial on top.
Piston valves with mother-of-pearl caps.
Cornet is on display at Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, Arizona (as of 2025).