Eb Valve Bugle by Hall & Quinby, Boston

Sometimes called cornet, flugelhorn or Saxhorn, this was the most popular style of soprano brass instrument in US bands of the 1850s and 1860s.  This example was made at the end of that era in about 1868.  It is made of copper with German silver trim and valve mechanism.  The copper was a holdover from the keyed bugle, in which this was the most common material.  The valves are Allen flat windway rotary with top action levers.

It had obviously suffered a very rough life and was missing a few important parts but the owner, Steven Ward wanted it done right.   Fortunately, I've worked on a few of these in the past and knew the exact design of the missing tuning shank.  It was important to save the split tubes by silver soldering the seams and I had to draw tubing to replace a missing piece.  Making the missing crook was quite a challenge, not having the tooling to make the exact part.  I was able to make the crook using existing tooling and modifying that part to the correct size.  The result was not only a beautiful display piece, but an excellent playing instrument.