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J. W. York & Sons Model 65 Trumpet |
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J. W. York & Sons Length = 19" I had recently purchased a 1925 York model 70 trumpet when I found this 1920 version with the Bb/A rotary valve. It has the same large bore but has a rotary valve instead of the stop rod for changing from Bb to A. To me, the most fascinating part was that the original owner's name, Audrie Peter, was engraved on the case tag. When I enquired about where the seller bought it, he said that it came from a 2023 estate sale in Edgerton, Ohio. After some searching into the name, I found that the only person in the US with that name was born and lived her life in Hicksville, Ohio, just 11 miles south of where this was purchased. No doubt about having a match for this trumpet. More on her later. Here is the trumpet as I purchased it in 2023. A bit banged up and a musty smelling case, but it was all there and had a great gold engraving.
The case had a replacement handle made from metal banding; a true farmer fix considering who owned this.
So who was Audrie Peter? She was born Audrie Lavern Peter on September 25, 1905 in Hicksville, Ohio to Delbert and Lillie Peter. In 1910, Delbert was listed in the census as a general farm worker. By 1920 when this trumpet was purchased, they were living at #903 East High Street (Route 2) in Hicksville (below).
Below are more photos before restoration began.
Except for the rotary valve, this came apart very easily. It managed to survive with the original mouthpiece, a cleaning rod, and the high pitch tuning slide.
The second valve was stuck, but after some wiggling around, out popped this piece of corn. I wonder who put that there? The mouthpiece has been trashed, which is a sign that it was stuck in the end and banged out at least once.
Here's the catalog page from 1925. Very close to the same trumpet but the bell is a smaller diameter by then and the second slide is facing forward. Since this one came with both tuning slides, then it's the model 65.
My first task was to clean up the old case. After glueing some pieces back on and vacuuming the inside, I then used black shoe polish to clean up the outside. I decided to leave the handle as I found it.
Here's the trumpet all cleaned up and ready for assembly.
This case is unusual in that it has two leather straps that hold the horn in place. A little leather preservative and a new vintage screw to hold one of them in place and it's a functioning case again.
The York banner was in rough shape so I used some spots of glue to stabilize it.
Two of the valves needed work to get them working smooth again and there are quite a few small dings and scratches on this, but overall it came out really nice.
A wonderful engraving and gold plating that's still not worn off. I have found that York and Buescher from the 1920s had very thick gold plating while most other companies must have put theirs on very thin, as they are often very faded.
Due to the rotary valve, they had to put the third slide on the bottom, but using it is a bit awkward. I have the slide end pulled out to the "LP" line for playing in low pitch Bb.
So now back to the Audrie Peter story. It turns out that she had to drop out of school in the eighth grade due to Nephritis, an inflamation of the kidneys, that caused her some vision problems. Her older sister Beatrice had already joined a local group called Hart's Girl Band in 1917 and perhaps encouraged her to join up. Her daughter Carolyn said that her mother joined the band in 1920 when she was 15. Below is a studio photo from 1921 when she was 16 (photo courtesy of Carolyn Self).
The Hart band was started by Ora V. Hart, a local jeweler who also taught music and sold instruments at his store. Below is the Hart Brothers ad from the 1919 Hicksonian Yearbook.
The 1921 Hicksonian gives us a photo of the Hart's Girl Band and a history of the organization. Audrie does not appear to be in this photo.
Here is another photo of the band. Audrie Peter is fourth from the left in the back row. Ora Hart is front and center (photo courtesy of Carolyn Self).
Here is a 1920s view of the band marching down East High Street in Hicksville in front of Hart's store (in the center just left of the funeral parlor).
The Hart store was at #124 East High Street in the center of this photo below from 2023. The band is said to have practiced above the store.
Audrie ended her time with the band in 1928 when she married William Cleland. He continued to play the violin with Hart's Orchestra and may have played with them at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933. In the mid-1930s, William became sick with tuberculosis and was not able to work. The trumpet was likely sold at this time due to needed income (1928 wedding photo below courtesy of Carolyn Cleland Self).
After finding the Cleland family and hearing their enthusiasm over this long-lost trumpet, it was returned to Audrie's youngest daughter Carolyn. I was honored to be given the chance to restore this family heirloom and return it to someone who will love it far more than I could.
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