Champion Helicon

[Dan Schultz]

I have a 'shoulder loop' that came off a horn like that but can't remember the origin of the horn. I think it's most likely of European manufacture. Lyon and Healy was a harp and piano maker, music publisher, and retailer in Chicago. I've never seen evidence that they actually manufactured their own brass instruments.

[tofu]

I've never seen evidence that they actually manufactured their own brass instruments.

http://www.otbrass.com/Horn_Pics/HornMakers/Lyon.htm
http://chicagology.com/business/lyonhealy/

My understanding is that they sold the brass manufaturing business back in the early '20's. I remember seeing a local news show doing a half hour segment on them and they interviewed folks from the company and some guy who was a Lyon&Healy historian. I don't think they ever made a lot themselves and mainly imported finished instruments or parts and then assembled them locally. Supposedly they had a contract to make bugles for the army during the Civil War, but didn't actually deliver them until after the war ended. It was really interesting to see the harp manufacturing process in Chicago.

[windshieldbug]

Lyon & Healy "Own Make" brass instruments made in Chicago

1896 1
1897 26
1898 76
1899 176
1900 376
1901 676
1902 1176
1903 2176
1904 3426
1905 4776
1906 6226
1907 7776
1908 9326
1909 10876

Notes On Creating The Above - Mike Keller

Starting with the L&H stated manufacturing start date of 1896 (1) and using the dates assigned to cornet # 556 (2), which still has the L&H certification by Jules Levi dated 6/12/1901, and cornet 4029 (3), a presentation instrument engraved 9/10/1904, the above dates were extrapolated. Starting with 1896, each following year was doubled up to the 1901 date, representing an enterprise start up. By using the total production between 1901 and 1904 to define a production average, and continuing with new production expansion through 1904, these numbers were then computed. Finally, a levelling off was assumed, which would lead L&H to alternately source their brass instruments until they once again entered brass manufacturing by buying one such company, the Couturier Co, which had gone into receivership in 1923 (4). The last currently available serial number is 11013, which suggests that of this period of manufacturing may have ended in 1909 (5).

Lyon & Healy was assigned patents by J.J. Neumann for:
-An automatic Bb/A valve (the "Duplex" valve with valve-slide extensions), Patent number: 622820 Filing date: Aug 16, 1897 Issue date: Apr 11, 1899
-Keeping water from an top-sprung valve spring, Patent number 609556 Filing date: Oct 4, 1897 Issue date: Aug 23, 1898

•1. Lyon & Healy. Band Herald. Chicago, IL: Lyon & Healy, 1917, [n.p.] The company was located at Wabash Ave. at Jackson. The catalog clearly states that in 1896, this company established a factory to produce "Own Make" brass instruments. Private communication. http://www.peterhadams.com/L%20titles.htm" target="_blank"
•2. eBay, Lyon & Healy "Own Make" C/Bb/A Cornet, 556. certified June 12, 1901 by Jules Levi. June, 2007.
•3. eBay, Lyon & Healy "Duplex/Own Make" Bb/A Cornet, 4029. Presentation engraving: "HIRAM L. Mc CAULEY SEPT 10TH 1904". Feb, 2007.
•4. Steve Mumford, Horn-u-copia > The Manufacturers A-D > Couturier > "Two Couturier Histories", Online posting, Jan 6th, 2006, 10:58pm, http://www.horn-u-copia.net" target="_blank" (20 May, 2009)
•5. eBay, Lyon & Healy "Duplex/Own Make" Bb/A Cornet, 11013. Dec, 2009.

Updated: 6 June 2010

[windshieldbug]

Then a brief period from 1923-1928 when they bought Courturier in receivership and then sold it to Holton

Couturier then formed his own company in 1916 (1), which bought out the Seidel Band Instrument Co. in Elkhart, Indiana in 1918 (NLI). After making instruments there for a few months, the firm was relocated to the town of LaPorte, a short distance to the west. There, they continued to make a full line of brass instruments and saxophones until the company went into receivership in October of 1923 (2). Apparently, during this period, they also made stencil instruments for at least Lyon & Healy.

Lyon & Healy bought the factory in 1923 and made "Courtier Continuous Conical Bore" and "Couturier Model" instruments until at least 1926 (3). L&H sold their wholesale division to the Tonk Brothers (NLI, 4), but continued to make instruments in LaPorte (which were marked Chicago) until April 1928 when they sold the plant to Holton (5), who closed the LaPorte site in 1929. (6).

Couturier was awarded patents for:
•"Continuously Conical Bore", Patent number: 1073593 Filing date: Sep 3, 1912 Issue date: Sep 23, 1913
•Conical bore trombone slides, Patent number: 1385202 Filing date: Jun 25, 1919 Issue date: Jul 19, 1921
•A cork ringed mute, Patent number: 1425318 Filing date: May 14, 1921 Issue date: Aug 8, 1922
•A manual quick change disk valve, Patent number: 1436085 Filing date: May 14, 1921 Issue date: Nov 21, 1922
•A short mouthpipe/smaller valve bore, Patent number: 1438363 Filing date: Sep 12, 1921 Issue date: Dec 12, 1922
•Stepped increases in tubing (the opposite of a continuously conical bore!) Patent number: 1729568 Filing date: Jun 26, 1928 Issue date: Sep 24, 1929

And design patents for:
•Short cornet design, Patent number: D52207 Filing date: Apr 27, 1918 Issue date: Jul 23, 1918
•Trumpet/long cornet design, Patent number: D52473 Filing date: Apr 27, 1918 Issue date: Sep 24, 1918
•Mouthpiece design, Patent number: D57511 Filing date: May 3, 1919 Issue date: Apr 12, 1921

Lyon & Healy was awarded a patent for:
•Double lever Saxophone octave key, Patent number: 1705563 Filing date: Mar 4, 1927 Issue date: Mar 19, 1929





•NLI. Waterhouse, William. The New Langwill Index: a Dictionary of Musical Wind-Instrument Makers and Inventors. Bath, England: The Bath Press, 1993
•1. Steve Mumford, Horn-u-copia > The Manufacturers A-D > Couturier > "Two Couturier Histories", Online posting, Jan 6th, 2006, 10:58pm, http://www.horn-u-copia.net" target="_blank" (20 May, 2009)
•2. Mumford.
•3. "LaPorte", http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread ... 92&page=25" target="_blank" , 05-04-2009, 09:43 PM, http://forum.saxontheweb.net" target="_blank" (20 May, 2009)
•4. The Banjo Ukulele Haven, Lyon & Healy, http://www.banjoukes.com/index.html" target="_blank" , http://www.banjoukes.com/Manufacturers/ ... Healy.html" target="_blank" , (20 May, 2009)
•5. Mumford.
•6. Felix Jungschlaeger, Frank Holton Co. Saxophones - Serial Number Chart, http://vintage.saxontheweb.net/Holton.html" target="_blank" , (17 May, 2009)

[windshieldbug]

Gotta do something with all my free time...

[vespa50sp]

I actually bought the horn. I live nearby so didn't have to pay shipping.

It's an Eb horn. My euro baritone mouthpiece fits perfectly, so I picked up a deeper cup Kelly on ebay for it.

One of the slides was rotted and there were a few dents, but a local shop fixed that for $108. The valves work fine. It has no serial number, but I did find some early information about Lyon and Healy horns (thanks for the tip). http://storage.lib.uchicago.edu/pres/20 ... 3-0071.pdf" target="_blank" target="_blank

It will be a fun little horn, especially for Tuba Christmas.

[bigtubby]

I have what appears to be an identical horn. Mine was imported by J.W. Pepper and the serial number indicates a build date of 1917.

[vespa50sp]

Funny, I was wondering if it could be a Pepper horn. Do you have a picture? The medium shank (euro) baritone mouthpiece from my Besson baritone seems to fit it.

[vespa50sp]

Its actually identical to a Ditson Helicon posted on Horn-u-copia. Which makes a certain amount of sense. I read, "Patrick Joseph Healy: Founder of the House of Lyon & Healy ; an Appreciation" for free on Google Books. He and Lyon were clerks for Ditson sent to Chicago initially from Boston. Pepper horns were about that era also.
[attachment=0]Ditson-Helicon-New-Century.jpg]

I don't know that any of those companies were building or importing many horns anymore after 1910 or so. I read somewhere that Pepper was sued by Conn for flooding the market with imported horns.