Bohland & Fuchs

Graslitz, Austria / Czechoslovakia

1850 Gustav Bohland (1825-1886) (photo 1) starts his
instrument business in Graslitz (photo 2).
1861 Bohland exhibits in London.
1870 Bohland is joined by Martin Fuchs (1831-1893) (photo 3)
to form B&F at a larger factory (photo 4) (New Langwill
Index). This was the former Johann Kostler Harmonic
Works at #354 Langen Gasse (Long Lane) (Trumpet-
History).
1873 B&F exhibits in Wien (NLI).
1886 Bohland dies leaving Fuchs as sole owner. Other family
members involved were sons Johann (1852-1905) (photo
5), Daniel (1853-1938) and Hermann (1856-1921).
1888 B&F exhibits in Philadelphia (NLI).
1891 B&F builds a “Doublephon” invented by F. Besson.
1892 B&F exhibits in Wien & Chicago (NLI).
1893 Martin dies, leaving Johann in charge of the financial end
and Hermann in charge of the factory (Music Trade
Review, 1905).
1905 Johann dies and leaves his eldest son Karl (1884-1964,
photo on last page from 1928) in charge (MTR, 1905).
1907 B&F opens a branch in London (NLI). They were moving
to a new factory by September 1 (MTR).
1912 B&F has a workforce of 200 and is the first factory in
Austria with steam power and mass production. They
build a sub-contrabass tuba (NLI) which was described in
the 1928 Music Trade Review as in BBb, 4 rotary valves,
50” bell, 110” high and weighing 200 lbs.
1914 B&F factory is shown in a MTR article (below).
1919 The Treaty of Versailles created Czechoslovakia, which
included Graslitz. This changed the country of origin
marking on B&F instruments.
1920 B&F builds the Alschausky model double trombone (NLI).
1925 B&F has a workforce of 500 (NLI). The William R. Gratz
Import Co, New York, has been a B&F dealer since 1885
(MTR, December).
1938 Germany takes over Czechoslovakia. This may change the
instrument marking to Germany or Bohemia.
1945 Graslitz becomes Kraslice as part of the new Czech
Republic. B&F ends and most Germans are removed from
the country. Instrument production becomes nationalized
under Amati.
Instrument Markings:
1. Early instruments have a script logo on the trim ring (photo 3)
or bell (photo 4).
2. They next change to a stamped name (photo 5).
3. This stamped design then adds the “B anchor F” (photo 6).
4. Later markings change the stamped name to engraved (below).

5. Other instruments can have an applied badge which often have

the name of the retailer such as Volkwein Bros in Pittsburg
(photo 1).
Markings on Imports:
The majority of instruments imported to the US do not
have the B&F name on them. They may have been sold
through Wm R Gratz in New York to retailers across the
country, who then added their own name on the bell.
These are called stencil horns and many retailers who
wanted an inexpensive horn with their name on it did this.
There are four markings that I have come across so far that
all point to B&F.
1. The easiest marking to identify is “B&F” on the middle valve
and usually “Austria”, “Bohemia” or “Czechoslovakia”
marked on the lead pipe inlet. (photo 1)
2. Some have just a small anchor stamped on the middle valve
3. Some instruments have a small circle with three tabs stamped
on the middle valve (photo 2). I found at least one with
this mark on the right side and the B&F on the left.
4. Cornets often have a number on the middle valve below the
valve number which may indicate a model (photo 4). Since
there are so many more cornets then other horns I will
attempt to cover here many that have been found, in order
to help identify B&F as the maker.
Cornets:
Numbered cornets:
#1 Only one found so far which has “Austria” on the inlet
(photos 3 & 4, author’s collection).
#2 These are very common and show up under many different
names. They are a clone of the Courtois Arban model
(photo 6). The fanciest version has brace flanges that
resemble fish scales, as on this Seefeldt cornet below with
serial #4562 from c.1900. Photo 5 at right shows the “2”
model marking.
 Photo 1 shows a Carl Fischer with the same design
Characteristics of most B&F cornets are the straight
through valve design, oval C-brace on the tuning slide, 2 nd
slide at 90 degrees, and a single ring separating the upper
and lower halves of the valves.
One thing to note is that the number does not always show
up on the horn. These number groupings have come about
by finding numbered examples and matching them to
unmarked ones.
Other examples of this same design are found with names
like Aschbach of Allentown (photo 2), R. Enders of
Brooklyn (below), Dyers Improved (photo 3), and Lyon &
Healy Silver Piston of Chicago (photo 4).
When you find a one-of-a-kind example like this Enders,
you can be pretty certain it’s an imported stencil.

#3 These are a clone of a Besson style and can be found on

horns like this Champion Silver Piston sold by Lyon &
Healy (photo 5) from the mid-1890s to about 1910.
#4 This number can show up on two different styles. One has
dual tuning slides (photo 6 & below) and has a fixed lead
pipe.
 Others resemble the Courtois Arbuckle model with a dual
water key like this Benson from Minnesota (photo 1).
Compare these to the original Courtois (photo 2) and it’s
hard to tell the difference.
#5 These are the same as the #3 and have been found marked
Fillmore (photo 3), NY Musical Instrument Co (photo 4),
and Easman & Co, Newburgh NY (below).

#6 I have this old parts horn with a number 6 but there is

little left to it. (photos 5 & 6)
#7 These have a dual tuning slide and look like a Besson
clone. One example is the Bryant Invincible model (photo
7) and a H. N. White “Bauer Superior” (photo 8). They
match this 1903 ad for their new Clear Bore cornet.

Another B&F ad from 1905 shows this as their model 602.

 I also have this #7 cornet in the parts rack that has the
B&F stamp above the letter N and stamped “Austria” on
the inlet (photos 1 & 2 at right and below). The wrap is the
same as #2 but this one has fancier joints.

#8 One found with “Austria / 8” on the middle valve which is

a Courtois style like #4. Labeled “Louis Bremond & Co /
Paris” so another fake French name (below, auction
photo).

#9 Similar to the #5 but a tighter wrap so probably pitched in

C (photo 3).
#10 No example found yet.
#11 This is a York Perfectone clone and must have been very
popular as there are a lot of these out there (photo 4).
These can be found under names like Tonk (photo 5),
Pepper #68385 c.1917 (photo 6), and Ohnhaus & Muck
c.1922 (below).
This is shown in the B&F catalog from 1912 as a new long model
(below).

#12 One example below.

#13 One example from my parts bin (photo 1 & below).

A 1912 W.R. Gratz ad shows this new long model 1000-1 cornet
with a quick change to A. Examples are a Carl Fischer
American model (photo 2), a Bryant (photo 3), B&F
American (photo 4), and B&F Imperial model (photo 5).
A 1913 W.R. Gratz ad shows this model 7000 cornet. One
variation on this is probably in C (photo 6 last page) while
another is in Bb (photo 7 last page).

In 1914, B&F introduces two new Z-lead pipe cornets; 16” long.
Model 11000

& Model 13000 “The Blizzard”

Other Cornets:
Jenkin & Sons Music – Harwood Special: this has a three-
tab circle on one side and “B&F” & “H” on the other
(photos 1 & 2, author’s collection).
Dyer of St Paul sold this Conn Wonder clone which was
very well done but the clue to the real maker is the 3-tab
circle mark and the two-digit valve numbers (photos 3 & 4,
author’s collection). Most domestic cornets have 1-2-3 for
the valve numbers. It’s marked “Dyer’s US Model.”
 Gautier Virtuoso: domestic retailers like to buy horns with
French sounding names to make them seem better than
they really are. This cornet (photo 5 last page) is one
example and this style can be found under other names
and is a variation on the #11.
A compact version can also be found with B&F or other
names on it (photos 6 & 7 last page)
C. Bruno & Sons – New York: most of their cornets appear to
be made by B&F and are often found marked “Austria”
(photos 1 to 4 at right from Horn-u-copia.net).
1886 Bruno catalog page showing Pourcelle Bb cornets; another
French-sounding name that’s really by B&F.

Marceau – Paris: sold by Sears, these all appear to be B&F made.

Photo 5 is identical to the B&F model 13000 Blizzard from
1914.
Montgomery Ward: their “Concertone” (photo 6 last page) and
Jules DeVere (below) look pretty familiar.

This one showed up on an internet auction with the marking

“Chardon Freres / Paris”. It looks a lot like the #1 example
except for a slight change in the first slide alignment and
multiple bands at the valve casing joint. There is no listing
for this company in the New Langwill Index so probably
another fake French name.

Gloriosa trumpet with circle mark as seen on a cornet. Probably

pre-WWI due to Bohemia marking (below & photos 1 & 2
at right, auction photos).

Photos from Horn-u-copia.net unless noted otherwise