Show and Tell: More Wonders of eBay

It’s confession time. I’ve been busy again on eBay, buying some items related to the book I’m writing about my great-grandfather, G. Oliver Riggs, the real-life music man. My excuse is that these purchases are important to the research.

But, I admit, it’s also pretty fun.

First up: the 1908 C.G. Conn Wonderphone cornet.

Sebastian plays some notes on the new (old) cornet

The engraving on the cornet, made by the C.G. Conn Instrument Co.

I saw the listing for the cornet when I was on eBay searching for vintage music. This was the same week that I learned, while reading old issues of the Polk County Journal online, that G. Oliver bought a new, gold-plated cornet in the fall of 1906, when he was directing the city band in Crookston, Minn. and also performing as a cornet soloist. The news item did not explain what type of cornet it was, and I have no reason to believe it was a Conn (this was two decades before G. Oliver would work for Conn). Even so, I thought it would be cool to own a cornet from that era.

The truth is, I have had cornet envy since last August, when I curated the vintage instrument exhibit at the Northfield Historical Society as part of the 2013 Vintage Band Festival. Paul Maybery, a Twin Cities resident who is internationally known as a conductor, arranger and musicologist, let us display a whole wall of his Conn Wonder Instruments at the museum, and it was fascinating to hear him talk about their history, their design, and the sound they produce. 

Now, we are well on our way to acquiring our own wall of instruments. Because as my husband, Steve, reminded me (I am not sure how this escaped my memory), we already had an old cornet in the basement that his dad found many years ago at an estate sale. This second cornet is European-made, a Henri LeFevre. I don’t know the year it was manufactured.

I think one of our kids, possibly Sebastian, stuck a small toy inside the cornet when he was a little boy. Because of the obstruction, the cornet is not currently playable. Sometime before the next Vintage Band Festival in July 2016, I hope to get both cornets refurbished, so they can be part of the next instrument exhibit.

The decorative engraving on the LeFevre cornet

My other recent eBay purchases are of sheet music. The most exciting and meaningful find was a copy of the 1910 Montana State Song. When G. Oliver played with the Montana Cowboy Band in the 19-teens, this song was in the band’s repertoire. It also was one of the tunes the band members performed in 1917 when they created a ruckus at the Minnesota State Capitol.

I have written a scene about this in my book. I already knew some of the song lyrics thanks to the newspaper coverage. Now I know all of the lyrics and also the tune!

The State Song of Montana; music by Joseph Howard, lyrics by Charles Cohan

This next song, “Marching through Georgia,” was significant because G. Oliver’s dad, Jasper Riggs, did march through Georgia during the Civil War as part of Sherman’s March to the Sea. Later, G. Oliver would play this song – on his new, gold-plated cornet – as part of the Iowa 51st Regimental Band that traveled to the South in 1906 to dedicate battlefield memorials to Iowa soldiers.

This last purchase is a collection of songs that were popular at the turn of the last century, and that the Regimental Band also played during the trip to the South.

These songs don’t look too difficult to play on the piano, so I think with some practice I can have one or two ready for the next My Musical Family recital.