Very old trombone, I'm guessing 1930's

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jondee111
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Very old trombone, I'm guessing 1930's

Post by jondee111 »

This is a silver tenor trombone (inside of the bell is silver-plated) with 'Manhattan U.S.A.' engraved underneath a skyline of three buildings on the slightly smaller than 7" bell. The matching serial number on the slide and the stocking is 'R20130,' & it has a friction fit between the bell and the slide. No manufacturer listed on the horn anywhere, and a fairly cursory web search turned up nothing. Any ideas?

The engraving looks identical to that on what's listed as a 'Vintage Selmer Manhattan Trumpet.' Web search will show you that horn.
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BGuttman
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Re: Very old trombone, I'm guessing 1930's

Post by BGuttman »

If you can post some pictures showing the bell engraving and the bracework on the bell and slide sections, that will help some of our more astute sleuths identify it.
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Doug Elliott
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Re: Very old trombone, I'm guessing 1930's

Post by Doug Elliott »

On a sax site I found "Selmer Manhattan" mentioned as being made by Martin in the '30's

The New Langwill Index says when Selmer relocated to Elkhart in 1927, they started making instruments under several names including "Manhattan"
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BGuttman
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Re: Very old trombone, I'm guessing 1930's

Post by BGuttman »

I found this on Horn-U-Copia:

Image
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jondee111
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Re: Very old trombone, I'm guessing 1930's

Post by jondee111 »

That looks like one of the knockoffs: mine has 'Manhattan' at a slant. For some reason, I can't post the flicks I just took of it. Will work on figuring that out.
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BGuttman
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Re: Very old trombone, I'm guessing 1930's

Post by BGuttman »

jondee111 wrote: Tue Jan 03, 2023 8:00 am That looks like one of the knockoffs: mine has 'Manhattan' at a slant. For some reason, I can't post the flicks I just took of it. Will work on figuring that out.
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Bruce Guttman
Merrimack Valley Philharmonic Orchestra
"Almost Professional"
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