I have a cornet - long bell I assume as it is longer than cornets, but shorter than trumpets - that I am trying to identify. My dad gave it to me 35 years ago and I played it thru high school, but it has been in my closet since. My dad died the year he gave it to me so I never wanted to part with it; but my kids didn't play in the band and I am considering donating it now.

It is in a Blessing case, but has Vedette stamped on the bell. The serial number is 158301.

If anyone can help track down the history or any informaiton, I'd appreciate it.

A few pics would help, if you can........Buck

Welcome to the forum. We'll be glad to try and help. That name is not on file at Horn-u-copia and I haven't heard of it before. It may well be a stencil, or a cornet made by a large manufacturer on contract for someone to sell. Those are frequently hard to trace.

What do you know of where your father bought the cornet? Does it seem to be American made?

A helpful thing would be if you could post several photos of the cornet so we can maybe see some design clues, etc. You have to paste here from another photo sharing site, like Flikr, Photobucket, etc. The uploader here doesn't work.

Try the link below for pics.

I know it was bought used in 1976 in central Illinois. We had just moved and Dad thought getting involved in band might help me make friends. I was in 5th grade and played through high school. I always called it my "corpet" because it was longer than the cornets, but shorter than the trumpets! Seeing some of the terms on this site I realized it is probably a "long bell."

Other than the 1, 2 & 3 on the valves and the serial number on the back of valve 2, there aren't any other markings. VEDETTE is engraved and the letters are made with a zig-zag - almost like a sewing stitch.

Pictures by kmbeauman - Photobucket

Thanks for your help and info.

There's a Vedette Band Instrument Company located at 908 West Lafayette Avenue, P.O. Box 748, Effingham, Illinois 62401. Phone 217.342.9211

It would be interesting to contact that Vedette outfit, no web site seen, to see if they sold the cornet back in 76. I still think they were a stencil retailer of instruments made elsewhere. Many larger music operators used to do that.
The cornet looks in great shape and of a very standard cornet wrap design.