1929 C.G. Conn Trombone with Ephemera
Watch
GUEST:
It was given to my husband-to-be in 1968 by a friend of the family, Mr. Zimmerman's son, who felt, because we loved music so, would enjoy having it. He was very proud of his father, Leo Zimmerman, and his involvement with the Sousa band, and gave it to us, and we've kept it ever since.
APPRAISER:
Right, and Leo Zimmerman was a celebrated trombonist in John Philip Sousa's band. I'll talk a little bit about the maker here, Charles Gerard Conn, an American success story. He was a producer of rubber stamps, a decorated Civil War veteran. He sold sewing machines, and he was a part-time horn player who had a lip injury, and he patented a very special mouthpiece. From this, a business grew, and he started a company, C.G. Conn, in Elkhart, Indiana. If Conn is the Ford of brass instrument making, then Elkhart became the Detroit, because it became this great magnet for other makers, mass-producing them at a great scale, sending them out all around the world. These manufacturers, and especially Conn, were adept at marketing these pieces. And here we've got a great instance of endorsement. Zimmerman was a well-respected and celebrated trombonist in the Sousa band, and we've got this wonderful history here and ephemera that comes along with it. Sousa had a very strong linkage with Conn-- all the brass instruments were produced by Conn that they played with. Conn was supplying them, Sousa was out helping him market them. We looked at the serial numbers here, and in the beginning we thought maybe this was a little bit earlier from the documentation we have-- 1913 or so. It turns out it's a horn from 1929. So a bit post his career with, working with Sousa. But a wonderful piece. On the "ROADSHOW," we see a lot of instruments made by Conn, but rarely are they ones of this sort of quality. Signed here, C.G. Conn, Limited, Elkhart, Indiana, with wonderful engraving that terminates out of the bell and right up into the horn-- it's really a great piece. Condition is immaculate. And anyone playing it in the family or...
GUEST:
Our son started to play it when he was in seventh grade, and was told by his teacher, "Do not bring it to school again. It's too valuable." But he does play the trombone to this day.
APPRAISER:
You know, this sort of package, topping it off with Zimmerman's custom mouthpieces here, along with the cutters, the John Philip Sousa ephemera, as well as the Zimmerman ephemera-- it's obviously not a piece you want to sell. This is a family item. I think for insurance purposes, you want to insure this in probably about the $3,000 range.
GUEST:
Very, very good.
Appraisal Details
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."
Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.
Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.
Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.
Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.
Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.
