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Melchoir? Isn't that traditionally the name of one of the three wise men? Wow, that horn is really old!

Scooby Tuba wrote:LB=large bell throat, if I remember correctly. I seem to remember you could get a small bell version (!st and 3rd parts, etc.) and a large bell version (2nd and 4th parts). Any lit I had around from back then (from selling) is gone with the wind.

Hopefully, someone will corroborate.

You're right. On french horns, if there is an option in size, it's in bell sizes. Most manufacturers offer different bell sizes, especially brands popular in the U.S.A.
If there is any mention about bore size, it's only in relation to other makers, or with double horns a difference between F/Bb side.
I've mailed a french horn collecting friend about Melchior horns. I don't have a Langwill index, but she has

Indeed. If I played horn in a large orchestra, that would definitely be the horn to have.

Last Christmas in our cantata the principal horn player used an 8D, because of the smaller ensemble, and I had forgotten what a pure, liquid tone a good one has. For once it was a pleasure to sit where the bell pointed at me.