E. G. Wright & Co. Cornet

Boston, 1860

Elbridge G. Wright (1811-1871) was a nineteenth century brass instrument maker based in Boston, Massachusetts and considered to be the foremost U.S. maker of keyed brass instruments in his lifetime.

Wright’s first instruments were outfitted with Vienna valves, but he soon moved on to the superior string action rotary valve. Though more timely and costly to manufacture, the rotary design had less playing resistance than the Vienna and less finger travel.

This example is a side action, three valve rotary model Bb cornet made just before or during the Civil War. It doesn’t take too much imagination to suggest that it may indeed have made its way onto the battlefield more than once!

Following the war Wright was involved with several partnerships, the most notable of which was with Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore.

Hailing originally from Ballygar, County Galway, Ireland, Patrick Gilmore was undeniably one of the most popular musicians of his day in the U.S. While we may regard John Phillip Sousa as “The March King”, Sousa in fact regarded Gilmore as none less than “The Father of the American Band”. It was Gilmore’s sense of showmanship and interpretation of concert band literature that set the stage for Sousa’s success in years to come.