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Title Selmer Paris Louis Armstrong Special
Date 1933
Selmer Paris Louis Armstrong Special

4 of 4

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