| Title | Selmer Paris Louis Armstrong Special |
| Date | 1933 |
| Description | This is a Selmer Paris trumpet in brass lacquer finish, manufactured circa 1933, and closely associated with Louis Armstrong. The instrument features three piston valves, the distinctive finger hook on the lead pipe, a thumb ring on the third valve slide, and elaborately engraved decorative work covering the bell, including a scripted "Louis Armstrong Special". The bell also bears the following stamped and engraved text: "A. SELMER / DÉPOSÉ / GRANDS PRIX / GENÈVE 1927 · BARCELO[NA] / LIÈGE 1930" followed by a decorative rule line, and below that "4 RUE DANCOURT / PARIS" with an additional partially legible line beneath. This trumpet is known as the "Selmer Paris Louis Armstrong Special," a model developed in close collaboration between Armstrong and the Selmer company during his celebrated residency in Europe in the early 1930s. Armstrong was a devoted Selmer player throughout much of his career, and instruments of this type represent a pivotal period in both his artistic development and his international prominence. The address "4 Rue Dancourt, Paris" was Selmer's Paris workshop address during this era. |
| Location | Paris, FR |
| Provenance | Personal Collection of Brad Goode |