Couesnon Flugelhorn Serial Numbers

Early instruments have a lion's head near the serial numbers and marked The King. Before 1918 the engraving read simply as 'H. In 1918 the company was incorporated and 'Co' was added to the engraving., In 1926-1928 the Sterling Silver bells first used. Couesnon Flugelhorn(est. Late 1970s) The serial number is 73844. Accurate Couesnon serial numbers are not available due to a factory fire. Non-sequential numbering and missing records. Based on the more modern bell stamp and blogs of other owners, I am estimating that this horn is. Couesnon Flugelhorn gold like one in picture, but I had a 3rd valve slide put on it. Serial number 80961. Stolen after break in to my apartment in Amsterdam. Amedee Couesnon went into partnership with his father-in-law Pierre Gautrot. 1888 Now Couesnon & Cie at 94 rue d'Angouleme, Paris 1900 Couesnon wins an award at the Paris Exposition and adds this in a banner at the top of the inscription. Any banner with an earlier date would reference other awards and would date to before 1900.

When I started researching the history of F.E. Olds and Son about 35 years ago, there was very little known about the early years of this company. I interviewed several former employees but was unable to get any specific dates of model introductions much less exact serial numbers. With the little information that I had and making a few guesses, I put together a few serial numbers with dates. When I got two pre-war catalogs I made guesses as to the dates that they were published. When others became interested in Olds history they added to what I had done. Unfortunately, my guesses were off by several years.

These were all honest attempts at adding to our knowledge, but unfortunately my early errors were magnified rather than minimized. This became more apparent when Dale Olson found out that fellow Olds alumni, Howard Wilson had an archive of photos and information from the factory that he saved when it was being thrown out. This included two log books with production or shipping records of the earliest Olds trumpets and cornets. I decided that we were overdue for a careful look at all the data that we had. I put together all of the relevant information from Dale Olson as mentioned, Alan Rouse of Olds Central, Eric Hamlin of The Olds Register and known catalogs in various collections. The following is what I have come up with. Please contact me with any additions and corrections.

For now, The Olds Register, is not allowing additional entries, but it contains a wealth of information as it is.

Some known dates stated below may be production or shipping dates and others are sales dates. Some are guesses based on models shown in catalogs, using earliest known examples. The rest are guesses based on rational analysis of production increases. The catalog that we previously dated 1930 or 1931 is after 1933 based on reference to Radio City Music Hall which opened that year. The catalog that was previously thought to be about 1930 (because I had guessed that a slightly later catalog was about 1932) is actually after the 1935 patent (applied and granted that year) covering the fluted trombone slide tubes that are introduced therein. Another catalog is actually dated 1939 and shows the Radio model cornet but still does not introduce the Super Recording trumpet and cornet.

The Olds trombones had a separate series of numbers that started in the ‘teens and were higher than those of the trumpets and cornets through the 1930s and 1940s (about 10,000 by 1938). According to Olds employee, Don Agard, who was there at the time, all Olds brass instruments used a single series starting with 100,000 in 1953.

Please let me know of any other data that will increase the correctness of this list. An early 1945 date would be especially useful. The last date below is based on Uan Rasey's memory of getting his Recording model trumpet during his first year at MGM. Also, I know that the Recording cornet was redesigned in January of 1948 but the earliest that we know of so far is 53,871 and I'm guessing that it was made a year or so later and we will find earlier examples in the future.

The second list here is a serial number list from 1952 until the end of production was provided by Olds in the 1970s and has been included in the Allied Supply catalog since then is still believed to be completely accurate.

Q: Whatever happened toCouesnon?

Couesnon is one of the great names in brass instruments, inbusiness over 170 years. It grew to include eight factoriesemploying, at one time, over 1800 people in France. In the USA in the1950s, the Couesnon flugelhorn became very popular as a doublinginstrument for jazz trumpet artists. Their flugelhorn sounded great,was readily available, and was cheap. They were everywhere. Itsdesign is copied by the overwhelming majority of instrument makerswho now make and market flugelhorns.

Why is it, then, that one can no longer buy such a popularinstrument?

A:

Actually, you can. Here's the story.

The Couesnon company was started in 1827, in ChâteauThierry, a small city on the Marne River, 50 miles east of Paris, anarea traditionally associated with the making of brass instruments,according to Richard Dundas, in his book, Twentieth Century BrassMusical Instruments in the Twentieth Century (third edition). Thecompany was purchased by the Couesnon family in 1883 and already hadan outstanding reputation as a maker of fine instruments. Theproduction included percussion, woodwinds (including double reeds),small and large brasses, and military bugles. Under the personaldirection of Amedee Couesnon for 48 years, the company won manymedals and awards for quality production and technical innovation.

These were all honest attempts at adding to our knowledge, but unfortunately my early errors were magnified rather than minimized. This became more apparent when Dale Olson found out that fellow Olds alumni, Howard Wilson had an archive of photos and information from the factory that he saved when it was being thrown out. This included two log books with production or shipping records of the earliest Olds trumpets and cornets. I decided that we were overdue for a careful look at all the data that we had. I put together all of the relevant information from Dale Olson as mentioned, Alan Rouse of Olds Central, Eric Hamlin of The Olds Register and known catalogs in various collections. The following is what I have come up with. Please contact me with any additions and corrections.

For now, The Olds Register, is not allowing additional entries, but it contains a wealth of information as it is.

Some known dates stated below may be production or shipping dates and others are sales dates. Some are guesses based on models shown in catalogs, using earliest known examples. The rest are guesses based on rational analysis of production increases. The catalog that we previously dated 1930 or 1931 is after 1933 based on reference to Radio City Music Hall which opened that year. The catalog that was previously thought to be about 1930 (because I had guessed that a slightly later catalog was about 1932) is actually after the 1935 patent (applied and granted that year) covering the fluted trombone slide tubes that are introduced therein. Another catalog is actually dated 1939 and shows the Radio model cornet but still does not introduce the Super Recording trumpet and cornet.

The Olds trombones had a separate series of numbers that started in the ‘teens and were higher than those of the trumpets and cornets through the 1930s and 1940s (about 10,000 by 1938). According to Olds employee, Don Agard, who was there at the time, all Olds brass instruments used a single series starting with 100,000 in 1953.

Please let me know of any other data that will increase the correctness of this list. An early 1945 date would be especially useful. The last date below is based on Uan Rasey's memory of getting his Recording model trumpet during his first year at MGM. Also, I know that the Recording cornet was redesigned in January of 1948 but the earliest that we know of so far is 53,871 and I'm guessing that it was made a year or so later and we will find earlier examples in the future.

The second list here is a serial number list from 1952 until the end of production was provided by Olds in the 1970s and has been included in the Allied Supply catalog since then is still believed to be completely accurate.

Q: Whatever happened toCouesnon?

Couesnon is one of the great names in brass instruments, inbusiness over 170 years. It grew to include eight factoriesemploying, at one time, over 1800 people in France. In the USA in the1950s, the Couesnon flugelhorn became very popular as a doublinginstrument for jazz trumpet artists. Their flugelhorn sounded great,was readily available, and was cheap. They were everywhere. Itsdesign is copied by the overwhelming majority of instrument makerswho now make and market flugelhorns.

Why is it, then, that one can no longer buy such a popularinstrument?

A:

Actually, you can. Here's the story.

The Couesnon company was started in 1827, in ChâteauThierry, a small city on the Marne River, 50 miles east of Paris, anarea traditionally associated with the making of brass instruments,according to Richard Dundas, in his book, Twentieth Century BrassMusical Instruments in the Twentieth Century (third edition). Thecompany was purchased by the Couesnon family in 1883 and already hadan outstanding reputation as a maker of fine instruments. Theproduction included percussion, woodwinds (including double reeds),small and large brasses, and military bugles. Under the personaldirection of Amedee Couesnon for 48 years, the company won manymedals and awards for quality production and technical innovation.

They made many horns which were imported into the United States,including many that were sold under the names of music stores andother private labels.

By 1911, Couesnon had expanded to eleven factories and more than1000 workers, meeting the needs of many performing groups andmilitary bands. During this time the products were highly soughtafter and were played by many of the virtuosos at the time. To get asense of this, take a look at theCouesnon1915 Catalog. Although they made virtually any musicalinstrument, during the 1930s they began catering to 'Fanfare bands'(marching brass bands very popular at the time), and gradually becamealmost the only supplier of marching brass instruments in France. Atthis same time, prior to the war, the Couesnon trumpet factory inParis was located right next door to the F. Besson trumpet factory,where the premiere trumpets prior to World War II were made.Curiously, the Couesnon trumpets of the time look virtually identicalto the F. Besson models.

At the end of World War II, the music business started to change,but Couesnon continued to deal primarily with the special needs andinstruments of brass and military bands. The C/Bb trumpet marketbecame dominated by Selmer, Courtois, LeBlanc in France and even thelarger American manufacturers. The public continued to associateCouesnon with the brass band; not the orchestral or jazz band.Starting in the 60 's and during the next 20 years, Couesnon tried toexpand its share in markets other than fanfare bands. They made aline called 'Monopole Conservatoire' higher quality instruments,trying to gain more customers in conservatory (music students). Forexample, they employed Mr Bernard Soustrot (first prize in the 1976Maurice André Competition in Paris) to try all the piccolostrumpets made in the workshop and to give his 'blessing' to these newinstruments. Unfortunately, these efforts proved ultimatelyineffective, and their traditional market continued to decrease inpopularity to the point that brass bands have almost all disappearedin France. According to Richard Dundas, sixty percent of theproduction was exported throughout the world with as much thirtypercent sold in the United States. However, as sales declined, theprofits dwindled and the losses mounted. Factories were sold off andin 1969 the main factory in Château Thierry was badly damagedby fire, destroying the archives. In 1978, the contract with Gretchto import Couesnon instruments to the United States was terminatedand new Couesnon instruments have been very rare in the US since thattime.

The fire resulted in loss of all the company records, includingthose which would make it possible to determine the year ofmanufacture from the serial number. This question arises all the timeand there appears simply to be no information available. I've triedover a number of years to see if anybody in the US or France has thisinformation, or any key to the odd numbers that are found stamped allover some Couesnon instruments. There seems to be no key or patternto them. And worse yet, so very few Couesnon instruments are in thehands of the original owners that attempting to establish a data baseof serial numbers and date of manufacture (as has been successfullydone with Benge trumpets) is impossible.For a while one major retailer of used instruments used to attachdates of manufacture on the Couesnons they were selling based on theserial numbers. I inquired as to where they were getting thatinformation (only wishing to provide web space for it), they answeredvaguely and then discontinued the practice entirely withoutexplanation. Black ops 2 download free. Sorry about that.

Here, however, might be some good news: Steve H., a correspondentwho has purchased several Couesnons, writes:

Couesnon Flugelhorn Serial Numbers List

A customer in France who deals in vintage hornsgave me this info which seems to work, judging by condition andstyling of various examples. In the 'grenade,' the circle with flamecoming out of the top [editor's note: some people think that it's'the pineapple,' pictured nearby, and they only appear on someinstruments], below the word PARIS is a number which indicates theyear of manufacture, 6 would mean 1906, 24 would mean 1924, 65 means1965 and so forth.

So, everybody take a look. Matching the estimated age of yourCouesnon with the number described, If you think it might be possiblethat it is the date of manufacture, pleaselet me know.

Althoughtoday the company has only 25 employees working in its sole shop inChâteau Thierry, Couesnon is still in business. In 1999, theFrench drum maker P.G.M. bought the name, the tooling, and thefactory to give it new life. The company is now known as P.G.M.Cousenon. Their most popular products are hunting horns and tambourdrums mainly for the French market. Unfortunately all the mandrelsand tooling needed for the making of C, Bb and piccolo trumpets hadbeen stolen, so the workshop is making only brass band instruments,such as the flugelhorn ('bugle' in French), cornet, tuba, a trueFrench French horn, with piston valves and extended stems for lefthand operation, hunting horns, and a natural trumpet (Jeanne of Arcmodel) and of course military bugles ('clarion' in French) includingbass bugles, cavalry trumpets and so forth. Many of these instrumentshave unique designs. As the instruments are hand made in very smallquantities, the quality, I am told, is exceptional.

The company is now a very small family owned business whoseownership is found in the company's name, P.G.M.

P comes from the family name Planson, the ownerof the drum company who bought Couesnon in 1999. Both mother andfather work at the company, mother in the office and father in theproduction. They have two daughters Sophie and Isabelle who actuallyown the company today.

Couesnon Flugelhorn Serial Numbers

G comes from Sophie's married name which is Glace. She runsthe company now, and her husband Stephan Glace works as productionmanager.

Couesnon Flugelhorn For Sale

M comes from Isabelle's married name which is Moret. She isa sewer and makes instrument bags. Her husband does not work at thecompany.

The company is all situated in one building, containing office,manufacturing, storage, and lacquering. Only silverplating and casemaking are done elsewhere. Production facilities are old-fashionedand the employees are skilled hand craftsmen, somewhat similar toSchilke--no computer controlled devices and just a littleelectromechanical machinery. All of the Couesnon instruments are tobe regarded as handmade. Strangely enough nobody at the factory couldplay, at least not a flugelhorn, and professionals musicians werecalled in for the final testing.

Couesnon Monopole Flugelhorn

They make three flugelhorn models, to wit:

• 137 Tradition, which is the small one (2003 price 1031 Euro, in lacquered version which is standard),
• 142 Monopole (1721 Euro) and a 142 CR (Cuivre Rose) which has rose brass bell (1892 Euro).
• 144 which is the 4 valve version (1804 Euro).

I've heard rumors of an all copper version and silverplating isavailable on request for all models except the 142 CR.

Production of flugelhorns is about 50-60 a year, and except from afew sold in France, most are sold to Japan. Because the production isso small, they are not found in large quantities in music stores,even in France. There are no distributors. Thus, the only way toacquire a new Couesnon instrument is to order directly from thefactory.The company struggles and its marketing efforts are from thesame age as the tooling. They don't have a web-site, they don't havee-mail, they don't take credit cards, and they don't seem to have adistribution network. Communications and transportation to ChateauThierry is poor . There are only a few trains to/from Paris, and nobuses. No brochure could be found anywhere in Paris, only in theiroffice.

Couesnon can be reached by phone at 0323835675 (Sophie Glace, whoanswers the phone, speaks pretty good English), and by fax 0323836797(responses are somewhat slow in coming).

In January 2005, PGM-Couesnon slipped quietly into the computerage, launching their ownwebsite. It isvisible in both French and English.

I'm indebted toJean-MichelSouche, a young French trumpetplayer and teacher who was able to research and tell me much of theinformation about the current status of the company and its products.I am also grateful for OlafBrattegaard of Oslo, Norway, who visited the company in February2003 and reported to me much additional and more current information.Feel free to contact Mssr. Souche if you are interested in any ofthese products or Mr. Brattegaard if you have more questions. For the1915 Couesnon catalog link, I'm grateful to Jean Monange.

Couesnon Flugelhorn Serial Numbers Chart

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