NLIC

This is an  Eb Soprano Cornet in an over-the-shoulder configuration believed made by John Franklin Stratton  c.1863.  Stratton established a business as a brass instrument maker and dealer in New York City in 1859. During the Civil War, Stratton provided more than 60,000 field trumpets and bugles for the government. He employed nearly 200 workers making upwards of 100 instruments a day.  The valved instruments were mostly made in the Over The Shoulder (OTS) configuration which was peculiar to brass instruments used during the US Civil War (1861-1865).

In 1864 Stratton formed a partnership with John Howard Foote under the name of Stratton & Foote.  The Stratton shield on this cormet is inscribed Munger Bros – St. Paul Minn. reportedly a dealer. Please click here for a detailed Biography of J.F. Stratton.

The Cornet is made of solid nickel silver and employs three top-action, string-operated, rotary valves with coil-spring return mechanisms stopped by V-shaped cork buffers (see detail below)

This spectacular cornet is no longer merely decorating my wall, but is now in active use by the Fort Point Brass Band in Northern California providing the essentional Eb lead voice for their Civil War gigs.

A "Tintype" Photo of the Fort Point Brass Band