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Need an ID expert- LeMaire Paris

Author: Scanicky
Date: 2008-07-30 23:38
Attachment: LeMaire Clarinet (3)reduced.jpg (202k)
Attachment: LeMaire Clarinet (4)reduced.jpg (471k)
Attachment: LeMaire Clarinet reduced.jpg (439k)

Hello and greetings from Florida,

I've discovered a clarinet in the attic of an old home I purchased and just finished reviewing your forums for a match. The only writing on the instrument is "LEMAIRE ARTIST PARIS", not "SML" or a crown logo of any kind as my reading in the boards indicated. I've attached a couple of pictures of the instrument if your interested in seeing it. All of the wood and silver seems to be in great condition, no cracks or structural issues. If anyone can identify it, would you be willing to posit a guess on it's value? Thank you for reading this and I hope to hear from all you experts soon.

Scot Nichols

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Re: Need an ID expert- LeMaire Paris

Author: Scanicky
Date: 2008-07-30 23:44

Sorry- one more thing- I did see one post that claimed that it might be a stencil. I know what a stencil is in the most literal sense, but what does it refer to in the world of woodwind instruments?

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Re: Need an ID expert- LeMaire Paris

Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2008-07-30 23:59

Scot -

The keys have the look of an instrument by Pedler. If that's what it is, the value is fairly low. Without restoration, it will bring only around $50 or so.

In musical instrument collecting, a "stencil" is made by one maker, without a trademark or other identification, and sold to a company without an instrument factory, which stamps on its trademark. The practice was fairly common in the early and middle of the last century.

The great reference book of makers and stencils is Langwill.

Ken Shaw

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Re: Need an ID expert- LeMaire Paris

Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-07-30 23:59

A 'stencil' is any instrument made by one company for another company, with the latter company's name 'stencilled' onto it.

Some examples of stencils - Yamaha made instruments which carried Holton (eg. trumpets) and Vito (saxes and flutes) names, Yanagisawa made saxes for Martin and Vito, Selmer (USA) made flutes, oboes and clarinets for Boosey&Hawkes (B&H "78"), Schreiber make clarinets for Buffet (the B12 and E11 bear the Buffet logo), and Malerne made clarinets for several companies.

Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.

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Re: Need an ID expert- LeMaire Paris

Author: Scanicky
Date: 2008-07-31 00:14

Thank you both so much for the replies. One final question: if the instrument doesn't have an "SML" mark anywhere on it, would you consider that this mark "LeMaire" is probably not of the Strasser Marigaux Lemaire company?

Thanks again,
Scot

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Re: Need an ID expert- LeMaire Paris

Author: Scanicky
Date: 2008-07-31 22:50

Hi all,

I just got this comment back from someone at Wichita Band Instruments and wanted to see if any of you agreed with it.

*** Dear Scot,

*** No value, in our opinion. Strasser-Marigaux-Lemaire were three French instrument makers who formed a partnership in the 1930's. The firm was taken over by Gerhard Meinl about 15 years ago and very recently was bought by John Nonaka, a Japanese businessman.

*** Clarinet production stopped in the mid 1970's.

*** Keys are nickel alloy, the so-called "German silver", an alloy of copper, zinc and nickel. There's no silver in "nickel-silver".

*** The cost to clean it up and replace pads / corks would, in our opinion, exceed the value of the instrument.

Best wishes,

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