ANTIQUE EARLY BUGLE POSSIBLE SALESMAN SAMPLE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA IN LONDON MAKE

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An original bugle measuring approximately 10 5/8 inches. Description of bugle and sales agent below. Thanks for looking. Courtesy of wwwdottapsbuglerdotcom and Chris Nelson: Bugle in this article: Length 11 in., Bell diameter 4 in. This is a double twist bugle in B Flat that has been referred incorrectly to as a M1855, although the British call it a Duty Bugle. These bugles were introduced in England in 1855 or 1858 but the model they are based on can be traced back to 1810. This has been the regulation bugle for all British military services for over 150 years. One thing to say about the British – they certainly maintain tradition. Although the British have also used trumpets in E Flat, the bugle is the standard signaling horn. These instruments can be easily identified when compared to a cheaper made reproduction (see “Gunga Din” Bugle, below). The originals are made of a heavier gauge metal and many have British manufacturing markings such as Distin, Hawkes & Son, Potter & Co, Boosey & Hawkes and Besson. These bugles have NEVER been a “regulation” bugle in the United States military. There is no record of any contract for a so-called M1855 British Duty Bugle for US use during the Civil War and no specification for its construction in any US Quartermaster record. Unfortunately, they remain mislabeled as such. (The only instance of M1855 use in the US military was the use of Boosey & Hawkes Model 1855 bugles for some years in The Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps.) Since this type of instrument was around at the turn of the last century, many Civil War veterans acquired them for use at GAR reunions and as replacements for their lost original bugles. Unfortunately many of these M1855 bugles have survived as “Original Civil War” artifacts and have surfaced in museums and collections labeled as the genuine article. Because they may have been engraved with the veteran’s name and unit, it has been assumed that the instrument dated to the Civil War. This is not the case. There is no proof that the United States contracted for bugles from England and there is no photograph of a Civil War musician with one of these horns. A British Duty bugle found with markings identifying it to a Civil War veteran may be valued as an item belonging to someone who served in the war, but the instrument can not be regarded as a true item from the conflict. It should be viewed in the same way as any GAR or post-war uniforms and equipment. Courtesy of wwwdothistoricindianapolisdotcom: Emil Wulschner, born in 1847 and a veteran of the Franco-Prussian War, immigrated to Indianapolis from Germany in 1875 after marrying Flora (Sullivan) Stewart, a livelong Indianapolis resident who met Wulschner while finishing her music studies in Munich. Shortly after arriving in Indianapolis, Wulschner founded Indiana’s oldest orchestra, The Musicverian, now known as the Anthenaeum Pops Orchestra. In 1888, Wulschner founded the Emil Wulschner Music Company. Shortly after founding the company bearing his name, Wulschner added his stepson, Alexander Stewart, as a partner, and changed the name to Wulschner and Son Music Company. The name changed to Wulschner-Stewart Music Company after Wulschner’s death in 1900. The Wulschner-Stewart Music Company not only printed sheet music, such as original compositions by Flora Wulschner, but also produced fine musical instruments. In 1896, the company started producing guitars and mandolins under the “Regal” name. Due to financial stresses, Wulschner-Stewart Music Company was forced to sell the Regal name to the Chicago firm of Lyon and Healy. The company also produced two main models of pianos – one called the Wulschner piano and the other called the Stewart piano. The store pictured in this advertisement, of the Wulschner-Stewart Music Company’s 1909 location, was reported to have an entire floor consisting just of player pianos. FREE! Sellers: Add a FREE map to your listings. FREE! read more

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