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Here are the tunable bell cornets produced by Amati. We've also included a low E♭ trumpet following a similar design, as well as the stencil-cornets produced by Amati and branded/sold by others.
Here is a quick list of all the brands that this model can be found under:
Amati (some co-branded Bohland & Fuchs, the main precursor to Amati)
Corton (became a sub-brand of Amati)
Musica GmbH (Steyr, Austria - a major client for Amati stencils; purchased by UMI in 1990)
York (Grand Rapids, MI - relied on Amati and Musica for student horns)
Gaylord (British music house from ca. 1940 to 1960)
Supertone (a Sears brand)
Martin Busine (mail-order brand selling stencils from various manufacturers, including Amati)
Belair (possibly connected to the distributors of Belair/Bel-Air Rite Cup mouthpieces)
Ruud Pfeiffer (more distinguished for his own horn designs, however)
Bennett Benetone (a large music and mail-order company; imported Amati and Böhm & Meinl instruments, and sold Blessing and York stencils)
Evette & Schaeffer (Buffet-Crampon brand; distributed German brasses as well)
...and there are probably more!
Type: Cornet
Brand: Amati
Maker: Amati
Model: [tuning-bell like Conn Wonderphone, resembling 76A Connquest]
Model №: B-1038 [Amati]
Where made: Kraslice, Czechia [then Czechoslovakia]
Dates of manufacture: 1960 [?] to 1990?
The first set of images & specification sheet from a 1970s-80s Amati-Kraslice/MusicExport [instrument export division for the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic] catalog, listing it as Model 1038 [on the instruments themselves, B-1038].
This is a departure from the earlier Bohland & Fuchs model 2551 designation. The 2551 first shows up in a 1976 MusicExport catalog, though it isn't clear when it was first designed.
Type: Cornet
Brand: Amati/Bohland & Fuchs [early examples]
Maker: Amati
Model: [tuning-bell like Conn Wonderphone]
Model №: 2551 [B&F], 1038 [Amati]
Where made: Kraslice, Czechia [then Czechoslovakia]
Dates of manufacture: ca. 1960 - 1976?
This cornet is a unique model which turns up every so often under a variety of brands. When compared to a version of the Conn "Wonderphone" cornet from 1909, the basic wrap and layout are strikingly similar - right down to the tuning slide configuration.
The layout even resembles the Conn & Dupont "First Class" from 1879.
When compared to the similar Conn 76A Connquest, one might see how similar these two cornet models are--the basic wrap, layout, and piston design all resemble the Connquest 76A. The Amati pistons with barrel-encased springs bear an even closer resemblance to those of the Conn 16A student cornet. The Amati valve casings and port arrangement resemble earlier Conn 14/18B trumpet valve blocks.
The mouthpiece receiver and some valve casing examples resemble New York Bach Stradivarius flügelhorn ones. The bracings are often the "telescopic" kind employed by Conn, but are usually set at an angle like those found on some Reynolds Emperor cornets.
Now let's head to the other brands, starting with the Corton line of Amati horns:
Type: Cornet
Brand: Corton by Amati
Maker: Amati
Model: [?]
Model №: [?]
Where made: Kraslice, Czechia [then Czechoslovakia]
Dates of manufacture: mid-20th century?
One of the many incarnations of Amati's tunable bell cornet...
Here is another example, branded by York. York was a Michigan-based manufacturer which made high-end brasses in its Grand Rapids plant, but chose to import Amati brasses for its low-end student line. This is one of those imports:
Type: Cornet
Brand: York
Maker: Amati
Model: [?]
Model №: [?]
Where made: Kraslice, Czechia [then Czechoslovakia]
Dates of manufacture: mid-20th century?
Of course, York wasn't the only Amati client. The Musica company in Steyr, Austria, heavily relied on Amati for brasses and woodwinds alike.
Type: Cornet
Brand: Musica [Musica Steyr-Austria, later purchased by UMI, Conn-Selmer today]
Maker: Amati
Model: [?]
Model №: [?]
Where made: Kraslice, Czechia [then Czechoslovakia]
Dates of manufacture: mid-20th century? [the example in the red-plush-lined case was sold in 1975 in Hamburg, West Germany at a Steinway dealership]
Some Amati clients weren't as prominent:
Type: Cornet
Brand: Gaylord
Maker: Amati
Model: Artiste
Model №: [?]
Where made: Kraslice, Czechia [then Czechoslovakia]
Dates of manufacture: mid-20th century?
Note what seems to be copper plating. Apparently, the mouthpiece receiver of this horn is stamped "Made in Czechoslovakia".
Even Sears-Roebuck drew upon Amati's stenciling services, a result of a importation deal that had previously existed under Bohland & Fuchs:
Type: Cornet
Brand: Supertone
Maker: Amati
Model: Deluxe
Model №: [?]
Where made: Kraslice, Czechia [then Czechoslovakia]
Dates of manufacture: mid-20th century?
Obscure and prominent makers/dealers alike sold this Amati cornet model:
Type: Cornet
Brand: Ruud Pfeiffer [Atelier Pfeiffer today]
Maker: Amati
Model: [?]
Model №: [?]
Where made: Kraslice, Czechia [then Czechoslovakia]
Dates of manufacture: mid-20th century?
Apparently, Ruud Pfeiffer was the son of Josef, who set up a brass works in the Netherlands in 1928. Apparently, Pfeiffer was also a music store chain, which would explain why this imported horn is engraved "Pfeiffer". This kind of resembles Dillon Music today, which sells some "house brand" instruments which are Chinese imports. According to the Atelier Pfeiffer site [and in English], Ruud took over after his father, who supposedly made French horns for the Residence Orchestra of the Hague. Ruud was at least alive in the 1960s, and, to my knowledge, Amati was still making this model of cornet at the time. Notice the mention of "Rijswijk" on the bell engraving above and banner below:
Interesting to note that Pfeiffer would import a cornet model when it appeared that they made many of their own instruments [see below video]. Today, they seem to do repairs and only sell instruments.
While I can't speak Dutch, Czechoslovakia is mentioned at 0:37 - Amati was in Czechoslovakia at the time.
Here's another example from eBay:
Type: Cornet
Brand: Belair
Maker: Amati
Model: [?]
Model №: [?]
Where made: Kraslice, Czechia [then Czechoslovakia]
Dates of manufacture: mid-20th century?
Martin Busine instruments [not related to the Martin Band Instrument Company, makers of the Martin Committee] was sold through mail-order catalogs "The Unity Catalog" and "LaBelle", et cetera. Amati [Czechoslovakia], Schenkelaars [Netherlands], Orsi, Grassi [Italy], KHS/Jupiter [Taiwan], Blessing [USA], Böhm & Meinl [West Germany] and other manufacturers supplied them.
Type: Cornet
Brand: Martin Busine
Maker: Amati
Model: [?]
Model №: [?]
Where made: Kraslice, Czechia [then Czechoslovakia]
Dates of manufacture: 1950s-80s?
Type: Cornet
Brand: Benetone [Bennett Music House]
Maker: Amati
Model: Standard Imported B♭ Trumpet/Cornet Outfit
Model №: 3276MF6185 [1972], 3276MF6650 [1973] - cornet outfit
Where made: Kraslice, Czechia [then Czechoslovakia]
Dates of manufacture: 1950s-80s? - catalog is from 1972/3
Lastly, Amati applied some parts of this design to their bass trumpet:
Type: low E♭ trumpet
Brand: Amati
Maker: Amati
Model: [low] E♭ trumpet
Model №: 2506, ATR-263
Where made: Kraslice, Czechia [then Czechoslovakia]
Dates of manufacture: mid-20th century?
Notice that the valve casings resemble those of late model Conn Director 14/18 and 15/17 student cornets and trumpets: Amati type A casings with G1 pistons.
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