Phatmon

I am interested in this horn can anyone tell me anything about it. thanks :)

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tom turner

Hi,

This is a great time to be inquiring about the Holton New Proportion cornet.

There are currently quite a few of them on eBay for you to look at photos of actual horns, cases, etc.

I'll actually group the Holton New Proportion model, and the Holton-Clarke model together for the sake of this discussion. They are quite similar. Since there are zillions of Holton cornets coming out of closets from the glory days of the peak of the brass band era, be picky and get a good one!!!


WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

1. A Chicago horn

If possible, look for a horn stamped "Chicago" on both the bell and valve cluster.

Holton moved his factory from Chicago to Elkhorn, Wisconsin in 1918 (some say 1917). His Chicago quality was pretty good, so the Chicago specimens are more highly regarded by collectors.

2. A full kit (an original Holton case with ALL slides and accessories)

I cannot stress this enough, in the case of these two models! Holton cornets of this era came with BOTH "High Pitch" and "Low Pitch" valve slides. "High Pitch" slides, made for the 18th century pitch, are pitched about A=455. "Low Pitch" slides will put the horn in the modern era pitch. If you buy a horn with just one set of slides, you may find they are mixed . . . or that the horn only has the High Pitch slides.

Also, a full kit raises the value of the horn at least 10-15% . . . and keeps it more secure too. Several on eBay currently have newer, cheap "generic" cases that don't fit the horn . . . and don't have all the slides, etc.


3. IMPORTANT! Look . . . and ask the sellers . . . about the famous Holton cracked leadpipe problem.

The way the front heavy wrap of the main tuning slides section put extra stress on the leadpipe, many Holtons suffered stress cracks (zagged tears) on their leadpipes . . . usually at the initial end where the mouthpiece receiver is soldered to it but sometimes at its end where it is soldered to the tuning slide receiver.

There's a New Proportion going off eBay today that appears to have quite a nasty, jagged "Holton" crack near the tuning slide receiver.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...759880058&rd=1

The apparent tear goes quite a bit around the entire receiver. "My technician said it played well," is a quote from that ad. It looks like a lot of bids on this horn too . . . until you look at the bidding and see that only one person has really bid . . . and then another person has been picking away to find out the reserve and run up "apparent" interest in that horn. That particular one is worth $150 at best with missing slides, improper case and a cracked leadpipe to boot.

Always ask the seller about these things before bidding . . . for so many people put in a disclaimer that they know nothing about horns. Make 'em look!


HOW DO THE HOLTONS STACK UP TO OTHER HORNS OF THE ERA?

Frank Holton was a trombone player who built his initial reputation on making great trombones! He branched out into trumpets and cornets later, and his cornets . . . especially the "Chicago" cornets . . . were considered pretty "decent." The identical horns stamped "Elkhorn" are not held as high. Holton went after the incredibly huge amateur market of that era (MUCH larger than today's market) rather than the pro market.

Holton was actually a "late comer" in the shepherd's crook cornet heyday . . . starting to make shepherd's crook models when other companies were abandoning them for the brighter, more trumpet-like long bell cornets in the dawning of the jazz era.

They rank well below the best of the brass band era, the incredible Boston 3-Star fixed leadpipe model. I'd also rank it below the short model shepherd's crook York cornet of that same decade . . . as well as a couple of the Conn models of that time as top-flight "players."

The Holtons were ok horns . . . not bad at all . . . but not exceptional. I had a "Chicago" in my stable of vintage horns for a short while in 2000.

Holton focused on the band market back then, rather than the small pro market, so lots were sold to students and adult amateurs of that era . . . and many can still be found today via eBay. They don't command high prices at all, so one can be had at a very reasonable price, and they look cool too!

High C Double G

Hi Tom:

Really good info here. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I was looking at this horn ---

eBay.ie: Frank Holton Cornet Circa. 1915 Serial # 15930 (item 160104084649 end time 14-Apr-07 00:11:05 BST)

I noticed that the seller states that there are 2 additional slides. Should there be three or maybe four for the correct pitch adjustments?

And by your statements, these are really very mass produced mid or entry level horns.

Sorry to go on and on, but are these horns also a small bore horn, Medium, Medium large, or Large bore? I am used to a free blowing - insert lousy joke here - horn.

This, for me, all started with my first horn being a "borrowed" Bach Strad cornet and my first owned horn being a Circa 1966-68 nickel plate sheppards hook type bell probably student level Holton cornet - This nickel plate horn did have the more modern lead pipe back around to the forward facing tuning slide and then to the third valve (complete circle type, as did the Bach). I so do remember being a complete brat (even at such a young age) and whining and complaining that I like the Bach better. My dad explained to me that basically he also had to buy shoes for all of us kids and this was a good horn for me, so quit the complaining otherwise the Holton is going back and I would have nothing. My dad was great at putting things into perspective.

Okay I rant. Thanks for all who chime in on this one.

Michael