Moses Slater (1826-1899) was in partnership with Godfrey Robert Martin (ca. 1835-ca. 1900), under the trade name of Slater & Martin, from 1871 to 1874. Subsequently, Slater continued to run the business, located on Courtlandt Street in New York City, under his own name, until 1888.
The tube arrangement of this cornet is identical to the four-valve instruments by Isaac Fiske (NMM 6884) and by E. G. Wright (NMM 7073). However, the pitch-change from B-flat to A, which is accomplished by activating the fourth valve on Fiske's and Wright's cornets, requires a change of the main tuning slide on Slater & Martin's instrument.
Body: German-silver with double-looped parallel tubing: leadpipe (shank or crook required); main tuning slide; third bow; valve segment; conical bell bow and bellpipe in one integral part to the right of leadpipe; Saxon rim.
Valves: Three side-action, string-operated rotary valves. Spiral-spring return mechanism; reciprocal driver pivot stopped by V-shaped cork buffers. Inner slide tubing. Windway: third, second, first valve.
Accessories: Wooden case, painted brown, with original green velvet interior and brass fittings. German-silver mouthpiece with added sleeve at socket. Alternate, German-silver, main-tuning slide stamped A. Crook stamped G. Two tuning shanks for lower pitch, one of German silver, one of silver, both probably later additions (see image below).
Sounding length: 1255 mm (B-flat), 1330 mm (A tuning slide), 1534 (G crook and A tuning slide); internal diameter, leadpipe: 11.3 mm; bore diameter (inner valve slides) 11.6 mm; bell diameter: 116 mm.
Cornet set up in key of A
Additional parts shown include: G crook, B-flat main tuning slide, and later tuning shanks.
National Music Museum
The University of South Dakota
414 East Clark Street
Vermillion, SD 57069
