Klarinet Archive - Posting 000316.txt from 1995/12

From: Dave Lane <davelane@-----.NET>
Subj: Re: Not amused
Date: Tue, 12 Dec 1995 20:23:47 -0500

Kevin:

I apologize for the fact that you haven't gotten a proper response to your
question here. This is not a usually such a cruel bunch that hangs out
here; heaven knows what caused the thread to veer out of control the way it did!

Selmer USA has manufactured various clarinets under the Signet brand since
about 1945. These have almost always been inferior to the Selmer-Paris
models, but during WWII, Paris clarinets were, for obvious reasons, not
available here (my thanks to Lee Gibson for his writings).

The Selmer USA serial numbers for the forties, in the list that I have, show
a gap between 30,000 (10/15/40) and 33,000 (6/1/47) presumably because of
the war. I'm not sure whether production stopped or just slowed during that
time. Since clarinets were scarce then, it was probably produced only
shortly before your father bought it.

As a performing instrument, it probably has little value. In view of it's
connection to you father, I would regard it as priceless.

Best Regards

Dave Lane

At 02:44 PM 12/9/95 -0800, you wrote:
>Mr. Lacy Wrote:
>
>>Then, take the wood sample to a scientific laboratory for carbon-dating
>>tests. This should cost you only a couple thousand dollars. Of course,
>>you have to consider the fact that carbon dating is accurate only to
>>within a century or so, but at least they will be able to tell you
>>whether you clarinet was built withing the past 200 years.
>
>I ask a serious question and I get this? I'm not amused.
>
>