Klarinet Archive - Posting 000119.txt from 1999/02

From: LeliaLoban@-----.com
Subj: [kl] Introduction with questions
Date: Wed, 3 Feb 1999 19:06:01 -0500

Joe Krafchak wrote,
>I am presently playing a Henri DuBois Superior model that was made in the
late 1930's or early 1940's. It was my uncles who took some lessons in the
1940's. My cousin played it during the 1970's in middle and high school
bands. It is a wood clarinet with a silver ring around the bell. The wood
is in good condition though the pads and cork need to be replaced. ($50 to
get it in playing shape up to $150 for a complete overhaul.) I have been
told by two "knowledgeable" persons that it is a semi-professional model and
is worth about $600 dollars. I have also been told by two "knowledgeable"
people that it is a beginners model and don't bother getting it fixed and
just go buy a used plastic model. Know for my questions.>

<Does anybody know anything about Henri D clarinets? Is this clarinet worth
fixing up?>

I can't answer your questions about value, but oddly enough, I took notes on a
Henri DuBois clarinet I saw for sale just this past weekend. The name on it
was written DUBOIS, in all caps. I couldn't tell whether it should be Dubois
or DuBois. It was also marked "Paris" with the serial number 2641C. For
dating purposes, how does that compare with your serial number?

The one I saw was Boehm system, made of hard rubber, with cast pot-metal keys.
I had the impression (mainly from the case, which was also labelled "DUBOIS
Paris" and was probably the original) that this instrument dated to before
WWII. The case was small and contour-shaped, with a wine-red velvet lining
inside and black smooth leather on the outside. It had only three
compartments: one for the mouthpiece, one for the barrel attached to the upper
section and one for the bell attached to the lower section. There were no
compartments for an extra barrel or for doodads. The clarinet measured
approximately 26-1/4" long including the mouthpiece. That's about the same
length as my Bb Low Pitch (modern pitch) clarinets, despite the C in the
DuBois serial number. (Does anyone know the difference in length between a
High Pitch wooden clarinet and a Low Pitch one?) I think the measurement is
about right, although I could do it only roughly, by lining up the sections
(still partially assembled as they had been left to fit in the case) in a
staggered row to take up the length of the tenons. The corks were falling
apart. The dealer, who knew so little about clarinets that she said she had
priced this one low because "some kind of a bamboo thing" was missing from the
mouthpiece, stood right there and watched me carefully, so I didn't try to
assemble the instrument fully. I didn't want her to think I'd "damaged" her
wreck, oops, I mean valuable antique, if the corks stripped off during
assembly!

This rubber DuBois was clearly a student model clarinet, although it had no
model name. (Are there any rubber professional clarinets? I don't know of
any.) I didn't buy it because the dealer wanted $125, more than I pay for a
non-wooden 20th century student clarinet in poor condition. I decided not to
explain to her about the "bamboo thing" missing from the mouthpiece because I
feared she might raise the price still higher for the next person! (I have no
idea what such things are worth in good condition in musical instrument
stores; I only know that if I'm patient, I can reasonably expect to find
something like that for less than $50 in the grubby markets where I shop.)

The rubber DuBois I saw would almost certainly rank as inferior to a wooden
model. Therefore you don't own the low end of the DuBois line! So that's
good news as far as it goes. Good luck in finding out more, and welcome to
the list.

Lelia
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Music must be made popular, not by debasing the art, but by elevating the
people."
--Henry Cleveland, _National Music_ (1840)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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