Klarinet Archive - Posting 000849.txt from 2004/03

From: "Lelia Loban" <lelialoban@------.net>
Subj: [kl] Barbier
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 09:23:45 -0500

Jim Lande wrote,
>Selmer offered at least two lower priced models of metal clarinets
> -- the Raymond and the Manhattan. The latter was actually made
>in the U.S.

Jim, do you happen to know the introduction dates of those models? I
don't. Part of the difficulty of sorting out the various Selmer models is
that their serial numbers aren't in the same series as the numbers for the
professional clarinets, but the model numbers compared with the
characteristics in the descriptions and illustrations can help. My Barbier
looks better and seems more solidly made than I would expect for any
company's low-end student model (double- walled neck, for instance), but
it's not full-Boehm. In appearance and description, it matches the Barbier
1310M in the 1931 catalogue. That year, Selmer offered no full-Boehm
Barbier instruments, and described the Barbier on p. 29 of the catalogue
as, "a fine low-priced instrument." The Barbier is the bottom of the line
at that time, and comes in two different models. Mine appears to be the
better of the two, 1310M, which comes apart at the center and bell joints.
The lower-priced "Barbier Special," 1308M, does not come apart. There are
no Raymonds or Manhattans in that catalogue. (The metal Master Model,
advertised as a professional model, did come in full-Boehm that year, as
did the top-of-the-line grenadilla clarinet, which had no model name.) I
singled out that 1931 catalogue because I've got catalogues dated a few
years on both sides of it that don't match my instrument.

Earlier, in the 1928 catalogue, Selmer offered the Barbier model as the
bottom of the student line, but only in grenadilla and in hard rubber, not
in metal, although they were offering a simulated alligator case for metal
clarinets then, that looks like the one I've got -- and that had been
discontinued by the 1931 catalogue, though probably stores kept "new old
stock" cases for sale until they ran out of stock. None of those 1928
Barbiers are full-Boehm. Bundy was the intermediate model in that
catalogue, with no Raymonds or Manhattans. The Bundy metal clarinets were
1302 and 1303.

Later, in the 1935 catalogue, Selmer introduced the "Balanced Tone" as a
new name for the top of the professional line (in grenadilla) and the
"Selmer-Bundy Special" as the top of the student line, with Bundy next, in
wood only, then Barbier next, in a choice of wood, hard rubber or metal,
and then the Raymond displacing it at the bottom of the line, in wood or
metal (but no Manhattan yet). Sometime between 1931 and 1935, the better
Barbier that takes apart in the center was discontinued. The 1935 metal
Barbier is available only in the 1310M model, but that model has been
downgraded when the 1308M was discontinued (the 1935 model 1310M appears
identical to the 1931 model 1308M), because the catalogue now specifies
that this 1310M Barbier "does not come apart at center or bell joint." It
looks quite different from my clarinet. Therefore I'm tentatively dating
mine at about 1931, but it could be slightly earlier or later (though the
catalogue number puts it after 1928 and it clearly predates the 1935
catalogue). I don't have catalogues for other dates that would show when
the full-Boehm Barbier was available and can't guess from my data, because
it appears that the quality of the Barbier went both ways during that
interval: up between 1928 and 1931, and then back down again in 1935. Jim,
have you been able to date yours?

Jim wrote,
>The literature for the Barbier makes clear that the
>instrument was made in a Selmer controlled factory.
>That suggests it was made under contract.

Yes, that's how I read it, too.

>It seems likely that such an instrument must have been at least
>intermediate quality. You just don't start a student on a full boehm
>in the key of A.
>
>Before we conclude that this must be a low end model, however, I just
>saw a wooden Barbier full boehm in the key of A on eBay. (Item
>3710278924).

Interesting! I agree with your assessment. It's unclear to me from the
catalogues whether or not the Barbier came in the key of A during 1928,
1931 or 1935, but it wasn't available in full Boehm any of those years, so
-- a mystery. If anybody on the list buys this Barbier, I'll be curious to
know more about it.

Lelia Loban
E-mail: lelialoban@------.net
Web site (original music scores as audio or print-out):
http://members.sibeliusmusic.com/LeliaLoban

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