Title: Tenor Trombone

Maker: C. G. Conn

Model: 40H New Wonder Ballroom Model

Date: c. 1927

Geography: Elkhart, Indiana, United States

Material: Brass

Serial Number: 243731

Accession Number: GL-231_A4-20

Provenance: Unknown gift

Description

Key: B-flat

Pitch: Low

Finish: Gold-plated with silver-plated highlights in engraving, burnished.

Lacquer: No

Engraving: Engraved bell with “MADE / BY / C. G. Conn / Ltd. / ELKHART, IND. / U.S.A.” inside a circle. As described in “Elkhart’s Brass Roots” 1994 exhibition catalog (page 67): “Custom engraving by Julius Stenberg, extending back to bell bow brace, includes a central oval panel featuring a schooner on the ocean surrounded by seven, five-petal flowers, additional flowers, leafy vines, ornate scrolling, and a geometric band near bell rim. Interior of bell engraved with six, five-petal flowers and leaves.” Possibly the letter G engraved on the ship’s forward sail.

Mouthpiece: No

Accessories: No

Case: No

Notes:

Tuning rod on hand slide.
Slide lock
One water key. Back of water key stamped with serial number.
Inner slide stamped with serial number and 10. Outer slide stamped with 10S, 40H, serial number, and a small star, indicating a custom order or special finish. Slide receiver stamped with 40H.
Featured on page 22 of the c. 1927 Conn General Catalog D: “The ‘Ballroom’ Models have a number of special features which make them unique for dance work―the bell is further back, easier to reach for wow-wow; the handhold on the slides has been moved to give better balance and hence quicker control; the bell and slides are locked together by a positive lock―to mention a few of them.”
Featured in “Elkhart's Brass Roots” exhibition of 1994 (item #50). The instrument is described on page 67 of the exhibition catalog, which states, “Like the other trombones of its vintage, its slides are made of ‘Connite,’ ‘a new metal alloy made according to a secret formula worked out in the Conn laboratories’ and advertised by Conn to be ‘more nearly frictionless than any other solid substance known to man.’” (Source: “Elkhart's Brass Roots,” 1994, Margaret Downie Banks)