Besson is a manufacturer of brass musical instruments. It is owned by Buffet Crampon, which bought Besson in 2006 from The Music Group.

31 Mar 1871 - Apr 1873: serial numbers 5 in serial number order. Besson cornet Stock Book Feb 1874 - Apr 1875. Serial numbers 2. Front cover, 17556-67 (on page 1), initial signatures/pages missing 2 and 16131-44 apparently missing (14 numbers = 2 sides) Besson ‘Cornets No. 7’ Stock Book Oct 1887 - Oct 1889. “I have a Besson Brevete by KanstulI purchased it in the early 1980's when Zig (Kanstul) worked in his Fullerton manufacturing facility prior to moving to AnaheimIt is serial #4425 revealing that Zig used a (4) digit serial number versus the English ones that used a (6) digit serial number if I am not mistakenThe year, make and model. Very nice & extremely old cornet / trumpet 'Besson Paris' Serial number 6209! Ending Friday at 5:23PM GMT 3d 3h. The horn bears the serial number 75412 on the valve set. Production records which can be used to establish the date of manufacture are available for London Besson, however none have been found for F.

The company was formed in 1837 by Gustave Auguste Besson, who at the age of 18 produced a revolutionary design of cornet which surpassed all contemporary models. His products quickly gained a great reputation throughout Europe. In 1857, he moved to England where he built a large factory in London from which his instruments took a share of the English market and from where he exported to many countries including the United States.

The modern company produces a range of cornets, tenor horns, euphoniums, tubas, French horns and baritone horns. In its history, Besson also produced a number of other brass instruments, including a huge 'triple' B♭ tuba.

History[edit]

In 1837, Gustave Auguste Besson (1820–1874) created the Besson brand in Paris with his new cornet. His instruments became famous in Europe, and he has been credited with over fifty inventions.^{[citation needed]}

In 1858, following a long series of lawsuits with Adolphe Sax, Gustave-Auguste Besson left Paris to build a factory in London. Over the following years, Besson continued to manufacture in Paris and London, and also had warehouses for distribution in Brussels, Charleroi, Madrid and Barcelona. Following Gustave-Auguste Besson’s death in 1874, the company changed its name, becoming Fontaine-Besson in 1880 in France, and Besson in England.

At the same time, another English manufacturer was becoming well-known: Henri Distin, born in London in 1819.

Henry Distin and his new fluegel horn were active in the development of brass bands in England. He created a new line of instruments under his own name, and in 1872 the Distin brand was bought by Boosey (a music publisher since 1792, and a manufacturer of instruments since 1851). D.J. Blaikely, the inventor in 1878 of an automatically compensation tuning system for valves collaborated with Distin, and together they developed a new range and improved existing models.

In the 1930s in Paris, Strasser Marigaux and Lemaire, SML, all produced instruments for Besson with Aubertin. In 1957, Couesnon bought the French company Fontaine Besson.

In London, at the same time, Boosey & Co and Hawkes & Sons of England merged to create the group Boosey & Hawkes.

At the end of the nineteenth century (1894), the Besson factory of London employed 131 workers, producing 100 brass instruments a week, and no less than 10,000 musical ensembles appeared on their contact lists. In 1925, Besson purchased Quilter, and Wheatstone & Co. in 1940. In 1948, the group Boosey & Hawkes acquired the Besson London brand.

In 2003, Boosey & Hawkes separated from the cream of the crop in French wind instrument manufacturing, to join The Music Group. In 2006, at the initiative of its CEO, Paul Baronnat. Buffet Crampon acquires two famous brass instrument brands, Antoine Courtois Paris (created in 1803) and Besson (created in 1837). The company became Groupe Buffet Crampon, with two subsidiaries, in the United States and Japan, and in November 2007, it appointed Antoine Beaussant as new Chief Executive Officer.

By joining the Buffet Crampon Group, Besson has restructured and relaunched its production of professional instruments in Germany and France. The Besson student instruments continue to be manufactured in the factory near Delhi, in India, under the supervision of specialists from the Buffet Crampon Group.^[1]

Models[edit]

• Concertiste - Besson's most expensive model from the 1890s to the advent of World War I. The bowed-out shape of the Concertiste's intervalve portings is the design favoured today.^[2]
• Desideratum - Besson's second most expensive model. The main difference in configuration between the Desideratum and the Concertiste models is the relationship of the leadpipe to the third valve slide.^[3]

Besson Euphonium Serial Numbers

Counterfeit 'Bessons' instruments[edit]

A flood of very poor quality Indian-made^{[citation needed]} instruments bearing the name Bessons entered the market in the late 1990s. They are unrelated to the Besson instruments manufactured by the company with that name. Many sales are made through online auctions. With cursory examination, any serious brass player would be able to recognise that these instruments are wholly inferior to real Besson instruments, and also of much poorer quality than even the cheapest of student instruments produced by reputable manufacturers.

The fake instruments, particularly pocket trumpets, cornets, euphoniums, bugles and B♭ trumpets, are likely to feature a 'serial number' of H.75983 (or 84059) embossed on the top of the bell and valve keys are often hexagonal in plan view. Similar counterfeit instruments, possibly made at the same factories, have been falsely branded with other reputable manufacturers' names, such as Getzen and Boosey. These instruments are best described as novelty items since they are shoddily built from very thin metal and they are often unplayable (due to faults in the manufacturing) and untunable (the tuning slides are simply ornamentation - they do not work).^{[citation needed]}

Guitars[edit]

Besson guitars were produced in the 1950s. They were badged as Besson Aristone. These guitars were imported^[where?] and often rebranded. Many of them were made by Framus. There was also a model made by Framus in the Besson name designed by jazz guitarist Jack Durante.

See also[edit]

• Harvard University Band, owner of a triple B flat Besson, one of the largest playable Tubas in the world

References[edit]

1. ^Besson - our story
2. ^Nicholas S. Thompson, François Tonneau Perspectives in Ethology: Evolution, Culture, and Behavior 2000 - Page 119 'Whereas the Concertiste was Besson's most expensive model, at least from the 1890s to the advent of World War I. the Desideratum was their second most expensive. Although the relationship of the intervalve portings to the placement of valve slides, and bell and leadpipe articulation to the valves, is geometrically identical in both the Desideratum and the Concertiste. the bowed-out shape of the Concertiste.'
3. ^Brass Bulletin -2002 'À l'instar des cornets de Courtois (modèles 'Koenig', 'Arban', 'Levy' et autres) qui sont abondamment copiés dès le milieu du XIXe siècle, la plupart des facteurs de cornets s'inspireront des modèles 'Desideratum' et 'Concertiste' de Besson, ...'

External links[edit]

• Big Tuba 2 Photo album of Sam Pilafian playing the Harvard Triple B-flat Besson tuba on October 8, 2004, as well as some close-up photos

Paul AyickVintage Brass

Trumpets, Cornets, Brass, Misc Other Winds...

I buy, sell, and trade vintage trumpets, cornets, and other brass and wind instruments as they become available. Some of my satisfied customers include players from the Chicago Symphony and Boston Pops orchestras. More and more, players seem to be discovering the joy of playing and owning some of these wonderful vintage instruments. The workmanship, detailing, and tone can be astounding.

MY COLLECTION

I currently am offering some really nice horns check them out in this section as well as mouthpieces , other instruments and musical items!!! If something on my site you see interests you e-mail me at: bulos@earthlink.net

I will sell just about any of the instruments for the right price.

(if you see a mouthpiece on the list that interests you e-mail me for images and price)

Once you go to any particular directory it is a simple matter to view all the images therein as thumbnail sized images.. To accomplish this merely click on thefileman.htm file and wait for the thumbnails to load.

(bulos@earthlink.net)

I strive for accuracy in the descriptions of each horn I sell, and all horns are shipped securely packaged, fully insured and sent promptly. If you are someone who just discovered 'Uncle Harry's' old horn in the attic, well then, you are just the kind of person I would like to hear from! I work entirely from my home in South Florida where I also work as a trumpet player. I enjoy hearing from anyone with a question, comment, or just to say hello, I always have time to 'talk trumpet', however I am not a free appraisal service so please don't e-mail me asking what your horn is worth; I can provide this service however.

English Besson Trumpet Serial Numbers Lookup

Here are some shots of some of the horns in my collection. To see all the photos and all the horns pick the appropriate horn from the 'my collection' area above. Lots of horns to see!

A Few Of The Horns In My Collection

Bach NY #1387 14 1929

An all original 1929 NY Bach. It had some small tears in the leadpipe but rather than replace it I opted to keep it all original by adding 2 small patches to it. This horn plays great.

Besson Brevete Circa 1908

Besson Tuba Serial Numbers

W.C.Handy and his Conn 2B!

French Besson Trumpet Serial Numbers

Conn 2B Gold Plated Bb Trumpet

Another late 20's gold plated 2B Conn This one plays a bit darker and more open than the one above but I like them both, these 2B's are one of the best designs Coinn ever produced in my opinion. Check out the great engravings.

Rare French Besson 'Fabrication' Bb Trumpet Circa 1935

This French Besson trumpet was made sometime in the mid 30's probably and rather then me bore you with opinion I will post what I learned from noted authority Niles Eldredge: 'Two concerns were importing Besson trumpets to NY in the 1930s---- both without the Besson name, as it was ilegal to import Bessons from France then (because the English branch kept anglophone export rights when they bought out the French family in 1895-1896).Both said only 'Fabrication Francaise Perfectionée'; Later, there was the diamond Meha stamp added. One was the Leisch boys (Oscar, predominantly)--- who brought in what would have been a normal 'Grands Prix' trumpet (i.e. with the medals), --set up with third slide tuning--with the throw ring below and the stop rod on top; this is the ax that Bach copied (but with the ring on top--the stop rod on the bottom) (Besson thought you shouldn't have your left hand in contact with the bell--so they set it up lower).The other was Joseph Rapuano--who brought in a model we have never seen for sale in Europe--but which is a throw back to their earliest days (I have a 1888 'Rapuano): long third valve slide, no tuning; first valve tuning (again underneath--). '...........Thanks to Niles.. This one is a Rapuano that I was able to restore recently. .445 bore but surprisingly free and powerful.

Before:

After:

I am trying to decide how, or even if, to refinish this horn ; it looks kind of nice like this what do you think?

Rare French Besson 'Brevete' Bb Trumpet Circa 1935

The standard by which all other trumpets are judged is the orignal French Besson trumpet. Bach, Benge, Schilke, Olds, Conn, King, etc; they all studied and tried to copy the designs of these great old horns. Besson had a few different models; the 'Fabrication' , the 'Meha' (named after one of the Besson family daughters) , and the 'Brevete', (which actually just means patented), like the one pictured here from my collection is a .464' bore. Information on these old pre-Boosey & Hawkes (pre- WW II) Bessons is hard to come by, but, noted vintage brass expert and master technician Robb Stewart told me this; 'The large bore (.468') MEHA didn't appear until after WWII. The Rapuana versions are usually medium bore, but this one (a pre- WWII Meha he has) is ML (.460'). I don't believe that there was a .464' bore.' Anything Robb tells me I take as fact, he is the man, along with Niles Elderedge who has compiled the best Besson dating chart I know of. The Benge MLP, long a favorite of lead players, is a direct copy of these old Besson 'Brevettes.' A truly sensational trumpet to play.

Very Rare Conn'Rosebrook' Bb Trumpet Circa 1923

This is the only Conn trumpet from this time period that I have ever seen with the forward facing 2nd valve crook and hanging 3rd valve slide ring. Both of these features are specific to the old French Bessons; perhaps Conn was copying them? I have never seen this horn listed in any of the old Conn catalogs either. If anyone has any information I'd love to hear about it. This is a .458 bore finished in satin and burnished gold.

.