Rare Horn for G&T Style 14 De Luxe on UK ebay

[Sidewinder]

"One Japanese prospective buyer said he would make an offer if the seller polished it first."

This is the bit I do not believe. How many phonograph / gramophone collectors would tell a subject ignorant seller to fiddle with an item they know nothing about. In my experience, inexperienced tampering always leads to the damage / devaluation of an object.

[Steve]

Steve:
"The use of power tools might be risky with such a huge unwieldy and delicate horn which will be dented easily."

This is not a problem, IF, you are experienced with using buffing wheels. However this is not something to try as your first time project. I have buffed a number of all brass horns and horn bells (not as many as John Duffy), but it can be done safely. The biggest issue is keeping it controlled, so it doesn't accidentally fly across the room...

And of course, there are various opinions on whether metal horns should be polished at all. Polishing off corrosion, rust and removing dents are (in my opinion) just removing signs of past abuse, which wouldn't be there from normal use, if cared for from the beginning. This is different from "patina" which develops as a result of normal handling over time.

I'm glad you mention "patina" as this is an interesting issue where phonographs (gramophones) are concerned. I have several original brass horns in my collection but I do periodically (once every few years) polish them to a shine as for me, dull tarnished brass just doesn't look all that appealing and these horns weren't ever meant to look like this. These are Twentieth Century musical instruments, not treasure from Tutankhamun's crypt, after all. Brass still dulls very quickly in normal dry heated internal environments so the argument that it is spoiling the patina isn't really valid as brass almost gets to a point where it barely gets any duller / darker with age, very quickly.

In much the same way, I will usually clean and polish wooden cabinets where needed but I know some collectors leave the dirt on them as to them it is patina. To me, it's just dirt. Patina is only important when it affects, for example, centuries old wooden furniture or coins. In the case of antique oak furniture which was only ever waxed to start with, it is the aging of the waxes used traditionally, with the layering of them over time adding to the natural handling, wood / coal smoke environments etc, that give rise to that patination which can give an incredibly deep rich colour. Stripping the finish off simply leaves a bare wooden surface and that aged finish has been lost forever. I don't believe cleaning the dirt off a sealed (with shellac, varnish or lacquer) wooden surface is quite the same issue but as always, YMMV.

[Steve]

"One Japanese prospective buyer said he would make an offer if the seller polished it first."

This is the bit I do not believe. How many phonograph / gramophone collectors would tell a subject ignorant seller to fiddle with an item they know nothing about. In my experience, inexperienced tampering always leads to the damage / devaluation of an object.

I'm not sure what to believe but look at it this way: if the seller is trying to hype the price himself (which we know he clearly is), why would he invent a story which suggests that by him leaving the horn as it was he would not attract the high offers he'd received? If anything, he'd say the opposite, namely that a Japanese buyer had offered "nearly" £600 as it stood, dirt and all. In my limited experience dealing with Japanese dealers, I do know that they are usually very particular and everything has to be made right and look its absolute best so I'm almost prepared to believe it.

[Steve]

Unsold anyway but predictably re-listed at the same price.