The Boy Cornetist

 

It was the premier musical instrument of the era.
More popular than the violin or piano,
the cornet was the instrument that exemplified
America's vibrant musical culture in the late 19th century.

The cornet's brilliant sound
inspired thousands of men and boys
to master its musical challenges 
as every town of any size had a brass band
to perform at civic holidays and other occasions. 

 

Young boys learned the names
of celebrated cornet soloists
like Arban, Arbuckle, Bellstedt, Levy, and Liberati *
just like boys in later decades
would idolize baseball or football players.

Some youngsters had a natural gift for the cornet
and quickly achieved such a high level of musicianship
that they were awarded a solo place on America's concert stages.

 

Today I present a collection
of four young boys who played the cornet
and once posed for a formal portrait photograph.
No doubt it made their mothers proud
to display pictures of such talented sons.

My first youngster is standing next to a rustic fence and a faded pastoral backdrop. I think he is about age 6 or 8. He is dressed in a dark woolen suit with knee britches, pillbox cap, and fine leather shoes that have ten buttons and a scalloped topline. His cornet is a shiny piston valve instrument that I believe is pitched in B-flat. I can't say for sure that he was a professional solo entertainer but he could easily be a member of a family band. 

The cabinet card mount is a dark maroon cardstock with the imprint of the photographer F. W. Allderige of New Britain, Connecticut. He was the son of William Allderige an Englishman who came to America and set up a photography studio there. F. W. Allderige took over from his father in the mid-1880s and continued the business into the 1900s. I believe this photo dates from the late 1880s.

* * *

My second boy cornetist is older, perhaps age 12-14, and more fashionably dressed in a dark corduroy suit with wide bowtie, watch fob and chain, knee britches, and leather slippers, a mark of a professional entertainer. His instrument is another B-flat cornet with a hint of fancy engraving on the bell. Unfortunately his name is not noted on the back so he must remain anonymous until I discover more information.

The photographer is Worden of 48 Winter Street in Boston, Massachusetts. This cabinet photo is an unusual elongated mount with gold edges. I date it to the late 1880s or early 1890s. 

* * *

Boston Globe
10 July 1887

There is nothing unusual in any boy deciding to learn to play a brass instrument. Thousands of boys in this era did that. But only the most talented gave public concerts as professional artists, usually accompanied by a band of adult musicians. They were promoted as a "boy cornet soloist" which makes them easy to find in the newspaper archives. In Boston there were dozens of venues along the coast of Massachusetts that hired bands for the summer season. In Crescent Beach the Salem Brass Band gave free concerts, afternoon and evening, and in July 1887 had the "wonderful boy cornet soloist" Master Willie Cushing as a guest artist.  

My third boy cornet is wearing a nearly identical outfit as the boy from Boston except that here the material is velvet. Otherwise it is the same wide bowtie, watch fob chain, short britches, and fine leather slippers. His blonde hair is almost lost in the light of the photographer's studio. I think he is a similar age to the previous boy, perhaps around 12-14 years old.

This boy's instrument is of an unusual design called a "pocket cornet". It is essentially the same length of tubing as the other cornets but is twisted tighter to make it compact and thereby pocket-sized.   

Philadelphia Times
2 June 1888

Like Boston, Philadelphia had lots of restaurants that engaged bands to entertain and attract patrons. In June 1888 the Belmont Mansion had the Neapolitan Military Band under the direction of Professor Curci perform two concerts a day. Their special guest was Master F. E. Wagner, the "wonderful boy cornet soloist". The restaurant was "a la Carte". 

The photographer for this cabinet card was Harry A. Well, an "art photographer" located at 112 & 114 N. 9th Street in Philadelphia. The back of the photo has a fancy illustration typical of photos from the 1890s. The handwritten number at the bottom is most likely the photographer's notation of the negative file.

* * *

The previous two boys, and possibly the first boy, too, were surely "professional" child entertainers just based on their wardrobe. Normal boys don't walk around in slippers or have watch fobs. Evidently they had sufficient musical talent that some adult, usually a parent, decided to get the boys to perform for the public who, of course, would pay money to hear them. This kind of child entertainment was quite common in showbiz, especially in music, but in the 1880s many people saw these child entertainers as a wanton exploitation bordering on child abuse. Progressive societies demanded that civic officials put an end to this mistreatment and protect the child stars. In April 1885 a controversy arose in Brooklyn, New York over Master E. Clarence Worrall, a local boy cornetist, who was set to play concerts at a private "Musee" or museum in French. The mayor of Brooklyn was asked to intervene.

Brooklyn Eagle
6 April 1885

CAN'T BLOW HIS LITTLE HORN.

Mayor Grace Prevents a Brooklyn Prodigy
from Playing at the Eden Musee. 

A few days ago Mr. Elbridge T. Gerry caused the parents of Master E. Clarence Worrall, a very juvenile Brooklyn cornetist, to withdraw him from the Eden Musee, where he has been serving as an attraction under the caption of an infant cornetist.  The father appealed to Mayor Grace through Rev. Father E. J. O'Reilly, of St. Stephen's Church, and backed up the latter's words with testimony from Dr. George R. Kuhu, of this city, and Mr. Patrick S. Gilmore, the one saying that the boy was in good health and the other that cornet playing was a delightful and harmless exercise for an infant.  The Mayer looked at the boy himself, and then decided in favor of Mr. Gerry and his Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, on the ground that the boy did not look healthy and was too little, anyway, to appear in public, even if he was a prodigy. 

One of young Worrall's advocates was Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore (1829–1892), an Irish-American composer and musician who was one of the most esteemed bandleaders of his time.  In the end the boy, E. Clarence Worrall, found an acceptable workaround and went on to play shows in the New York metro area. He achieved some success as his career extended into the next decade when he was recognized as a popular soloist and band leader. 

My final boy cornetist follows the same fashion as the other boys, though his suit looks more like a worsted wool material. Again he has a broad bowtie and a watch fob, though his mother has opted for high button shoes. He looks about age 12-14 and stands next to a faux carved stone plinth in front of a painted floral backdrop. His cornet is better positioned to see the design of the instrument and a hint of engraving on the bell. The photograph was taken in Los Angeles. 

Unlike the other boys this young man has his name recorded on the back of the cabinet photo. He is "Frank Reed, son of Laura Reed, sister of Laura Harpoll".

The photographer was the Sunbeam Art Studio of 236-238 S. Main St. in Los Angeles, California. Despite these good clues the name Frank Reed was too common in record archives to make a proper identification. But I did determine that the Sunbeam Art Studio was first listed in the 1894 Los Angeles city directory. Its proprietors were C. Coules and F. C. Dando. By 1897 they dropped the name Sunbeam Art Studio, added a second location at 313½ Spring St, and used only the 236 S. Main St. address. In the 1899 city directory Coules and Dando were no longer partners. That puts the date of Master Frank Reed's portrait to around 1894 to 1896.

1897 Los Angeles city directory.

On the opposite page in the 1897 Los Angeles city directory was an photo engraving of another photographer, Mr. J. T. Pollock of the Garden City Foto Co. He stands on top a horse-drawn carriage which has a windowless passenger box for his darkroom. On top Mr. Pollock has mounted a camera on a tall ladder. His advertisement claims he is "the only photographers in Los Angeles that are equipped for making views from 25-foot elevation. Largest assortment of choice views to be found in Southern California, at wholesale and retail. Developing and printing for amateurs a specialty. We are here to stay; we have no rent to pay."

* * *

All of these boys resemble a photo featured in Master Eddie Derville - Cornet Soloist, a story from September 2016. In his portrait Master Eddie wears the same style boys suit with a fancy watch fob stylishly displayed. His photo was taken in around 1883 by Charles Eisenmann, one of the best photographers in New York City who specialized in producing promotional photos of theatrical and circus entertainers. In the late 19th century American show business rapidly expanded with entrepreneurs building countless new theaters and music halls in any town where there was a train station. Theater managers needed to sell a lot of tickets to make a profit so it stimulated an explosion of new acts of every  kind. Child performers were a guaranteed draw. At least if they had genuine talent. The most common way for a child to become a performer was as member of a family musical ensemble, often grandly called a family band or orchestra. 

Master Eddie Derville played cornet in his family band and it is quite likely that some of the four boys I have featured here also learned to play their instrument that way too. But I think some could easily have had talent that merited being promoted as a cornet soloist in their own right. The career of a child entertainer was obviously very brief as the novelty of a young soloist didn't attract much public attention once the kid grew up. Did these boys go on to become professional musicians as adults? It is difficult, if not impossible, to know, since all we can see in an anonymous photo is a  single moment of youthful delight and charm. But at that moment the camera shutter clicked surely mama smiled too. 

    * The names correspond to the French cornetist Jean-Baptiste Arban (1825–1889),
                    the Scottish cornetist Matthew Arbuckle (1828–1883), 
                    the German cornetist Herman Bellstedt (1858–1926),
                    the English cornetist Jules Levy (1838–1903),
                    and the Italian cornetist Alessandro Liberati (1847–1927).
                    Each was a virtuoso of the piston valve cornet and a respected teacher
                    of the instrument. Their solo and method books are still required study for music
                    students in the 21st century. 

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday

where charming portraits of boys
are on sale this weekend.