 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: Boosh
Date: 2012-05-13 19:18
Hello everyone,
I am hoping to seek some advice/help from here. I have my Grandads old Selmer Sterling clarinet which was passed on to me and am looking for some guidance on the model/year etc!
It has 'Selmer London Sterling Made in France' embossed in it and a serial number of '5558' . From what I could gather with my limited knowledge this makes it around 1923? I know he used it regular still up until his death ( 10 years ago).
I can provide pictures if needed, Can anyone offer me a bit more information about it please?
I hope I have posted in the correct section, if not please accept my apologies.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: SteveG_CT
Date: 2012-05-13 19:32
Boosh wrote:
> Hello everyone,
>
> I am hoping to seek some advice/help from here. I have my
> Grandads old Selmer Sterling clarinet which was passed on to me
> and am looking for some guidance on the model/year etc!
>
> It has 'Selmer London Sterling Made in France' embossed in it
> and a serial number of '5558' . From what I could gather with
> my limited knowledge this makes it around 1923?
The "Stering" line was one of the house brands of Selmer UK. The clarinets themselves were reportedly made in France by Malerne. The "Sterling" was one of the mid-priced lines. Unfortunately I don't know of any serial number lists for Selmer UK but I suspect your clarinet is much more recent than 1923 as Selmer UK wasn't even founded until 1928. The Selmer UK instruments did not use the same serial numbers as the Selmer Paris ones. Most likely your clarinet is from the 50's through the 70's.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-05-13 19:53
I've got a Selmer Sterling A clarinet from the mid '50s (it was paired with a Selmer CT Bb) and considering it's not a high end clarinet, it plays incredibly well with a nice, full tone. The keywork and general workmanship isn't all that great, but after a full overhaul it's now a perfectly workable A clarinet and in terms of playability it's definitely up with some of the best I've played - other players have tried it and it gets the thumbs up from them too.
As Selmer Paris only produced pro level clarinets at the time (most notably the Centered Tone and Series 9), these were imported by Selmer London to fill a gap in their lineup. The Gold Seal and Console were the other Selmer London stencil models on offer and were sourced from France, Italy, Czechoslovakia and China.
More info here: http://www.donmack.com/pages/the-story-of-henri-selmer-co-london
A catalogue from the mid '50s: http://www.donmack.com/pages/selmer-london-catalogue-1955
And another from the late '60s: http://www.donmack.com/pages/selmer-london-catalogue-1967
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2012-05-13 20:07)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: rtmyth
Date: 2012-05-13 22:19
I bought a new Selmer in 1947; excellent instrument. Would like to know if it was a CT.
richard smith
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-05-13 22:40
If it had the large hexagonal speaker bush then it would be a CT - the one before the CT had the two-part speaker bush with the large domed screw-in outer cup (with two holes in it to fit the driver into) and a central push-fit speaker tube.
The CT was officially launched in 1954 going on the various bits of info found on the interwebs (along with the MkVI saxes), but they were being made and bearing the name 'Centered Tone' on the top joint a few years before that. I've had an N series CT and my first A clarinet is a P series CT - both made before 1954.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: susib
Date: 2014-06-18 06:03
Hello Chris and everyone,
I also have what I suspect could be a Malerne A clarinet - the logo states “Selmer London, STERLING, Made in France”, with one small star under the STERLING. The serial number is 2127, no letters. I acquired it from a hock shop in Darwin Australia housed in an elderly double case with no markings and without a Bb companion about 8 years ago.
But I am curious to know more about its age.
Would you have a list of serial numbers for the Selmer London instruments, or copies of old catalogues, which would give an idea of how old the instrument is? I cannot access Don Mackrill’s website unfortunately - it seems not to be working.
Any information much appreciated,
Thanks, Susi
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2014-06-18 12:13
Attachment: clarinets 001.JPG (784k)
Hi Susi, I'm not aware of any serial number lists relating to Malerne, so it's not really possible to accurately guess the age of any given clarinet made by them.
But I have to admit for an entry level A clarinet, the Selmer Sterling I recently sold to someone in Liverpool played as good as any pro level A clarinet - that's not just me that thinks that as I've let other players and teachers try it and they reached the same conclusion that it's just as good (if not better) than their pro level Buffet, Leblanc, Selmer or Yamaha A clarinets.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: cyclopathic
Date: 2014-06-18 20:10
http://www.clarinetperfection.com/clsnselmeruk.htm
These Selmer UK clarinet were apparently made by Malerne. It included their top of the line "Gold Seal", "Sterling" and "Console".
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
