Klarinet Archive - Posting 000507.txt from 1999/05

From: LeliaLoban@-----.com
Subj: [kl] Selmer "F. Barbieri" Model
Date: Wed, 12 May 1999 12:05:03 -0400

Jim Jnbradner@-----.com wrote,

>>Can anyone help with the approximate age, relative quality, estimated
value, rarity and/or history of the Selmer "F. Barbieri" model B-flat soprano
clarinet?>>

I've been trying to answer this question, too. I own a 1932 Selmer catalogue
that lists the Master as the professional model, the Bundy as the
intermediate model and the Barbier as the student model, with the following
description:

"Like the Bundy clarinet, the Barbier is also made in France in a
Selmer-controlled factory, located in a small city near Paris. This plant is
operated by water power, on the most economical lines, and is modernly
equipped. Under no other circumstances could we offer such a finely-built
and splendidly tuned clarinet at such a low price.

"The master hand of Alexandre Selmer stands out in this fine low-priced
instrument. His theory briefly is that--so long as we have the correct bore
and inner measurements, there is no point in using inferior proportions in
our Selmer student line, the Barbier--thus Barbier players benefit by the
long, arduous experimental work of the Messrs. Selmer.

"Mr. Selmer has little patience with the ordinary commercial grade of reed
instrument. 'Why expect a beginner to learn on an instrument I could not
play myself!' he asks, and rightfully. Yet, many dealers, bandmasters and
teachers, thinking only of their margin of profit, induce students to
purchase reed instruments so inferior in quality as to discourage them,
hinder their progress and impair the student's musical ear. We invite you to
have your best local clarinet player test the Barbier before you purchase."

Okay, that's advertising hype, written during the early, dire years of the
Depression. However, there's some real information in the description:
Selmer was willing to put the company name on this clarinet and made it to
the same measurements as the higher-quality lines. The catalogue goes on to
list the Barbier in the following options (all Boehm system):

1308M, 17 keys, 6 rings, silver-plated nickel silver, does not come apart at
center or bell joint, $65.
1310M, 17 keys, 6 rings, 5 pieces, silver-plated nickel silver, $85.
1310, 17 keys, 6 rings, 5 pieces, Grenadilla wood, $62.
1312, 17 keys, 7 rings, 5 pieces, forked Eb-Bb, Grenadilla wood, $72.
1310R, 17 keys, 6 rings, 5 pieces, Ebonite (hard rubber), $62.
1312R, 17 keys, 7 rings, forked Eb-Bb, 5 pieces, Ebonite (hard rubber), $72.

The 1932 catalogue also offers the Barbier in the following Albert system
models:
1301, 15 keys, 2 rings, Grenadilla wood, $26.
1303, 15 keys, 4 rings, Grenadilla wood, $30.
1305, 15 keys, 4 rings, rollers, Grenadilla wood, $34.
1305R, 15 keys, 4 rings, rollers, Ebonite (hard rubber), $38.

For comparison with those prices, in the same catalogue, the Selmer Master
ranged from $145 to $195 depending on the options, while the Selmer Bundy
ranged from $75 to $110.

Last December, I bought a silver-plated 5-piece Selmer Barbier, serial number
358, with a C below the serial number. Although the C would seem to indicate
a C clarinet, the length is nearly identical to (actually a tad longer than)
my metal H. Bettoney Silva-Bet Bb clarinet, which is definitely a Bb
instrument. The Barbier's C may refer to a finish option or model type,
designated differently from the 1932 catalogue. I haven't pitch-tested the
Barbier yet because it was in unplayable shape when I bought it and it's now
dismembered in a box on the work bench. According to the dates posted on the
sneezy.org site, serial number 400 dates from 1927, so I'm guessing my
clarinet dates from about then, *IF* the Barbieri numbers are in the same
series as the other Selmers. That's a major *if*, of course. The serial
numbers posted on sneezy don't have letters in front of them before the "L"
series starts in 1931. Did the previous models also have letter prefixes?
Were all the various Selmer models dated with the same series of serial
numbers? Dunno. The sneezy history gives no dates prior to 1927 and Selmer,
alas, claims not to have serial number information for old instruments.
However, I'm inclined to think 1926 or 1927 is about right for my clarinet,
judging from what appears to be the original Selmer case, with
alligator-grained keratol covering and purple velvet lining. It's from the
cheapest line of Selmer cases sold from the 1920s through mid-1930s, in which
a metal clarinet must be stored as if it were a one-piece instrument.

I don't know what fair market value would be for a Barbier in playing
condition. I haven't seen any evidence of a big demand for them. Mine had
been stored in a damp place, probably a basement, and needed a full overhaul.
That's why I bought it. I'm learning to do basic repairs and don't want to
experiment on a top-quality professional clarinet, so, like a body-snatching
Mad Scientist in a Hammer horror movie, I snuffle around the graveyards....
BWAAAA-ha-ha-ha-ha. I bought the Barbier for about $40 in a country
"junktiques" market. (I bought several things at once and negotiated a price
on the lot. I've forgotten where we ended up with the clarinet, although I
think the dealer started out asking $52 for it.) Anyway, the case smelled as
if something had died in there, while the clarinet, though basically
undamaged, was tarnished black, with rotted pads, corks, etc.. Icky, stinky
condition always lowers the price considerably. Cleaned up, this attractive
clarinet seems solidly built. I'll be curious to hear what it sounds like.
One of these days, I'll finish slobbering and chortling over it, wait for a
good thunderstorm, hook up the lightning rod, scream "It's alive! It's
alive!" and send a report to the list.

One other note: Selmer has a history of downgrading models. The Bundy, for
instance, was an intermediate model in the 1932 catalog but later became the
beginner model. Similarly, Selmer bought out the Buescher company, then used
"Aristocrat", the name of a professional-quality Buescher saxophone that's
still a sought-after vintage sax today, as the name for a lower-quality
student sax that isn't as well-regarded today. Since I have no idea whether
(or when) anything similar might have happened with the Barbier clarinet, at
this point I've got more questions than answers and hope that someone else
has more information.

Lelia
(rhymes with "necrophilia")

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