The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

(I hope the file uploaded) Here is the result of my using a water transfer of Photoshopped flowers on my horn. Each flower cluster is different, as taken from some photos of original horns.
John

Stunning


I need to try that one day...

Is it possible for someone to start making flowered horn decals to sell? That would be very helpful for people like me that can't paint a flowers. Nice work on that horn!!!

One can purchase flower decals on line--just search "flower decals" or something like that. I never found any exactly suitable, but who knows what a diligent search will turn up? Just be careful about background colors. You want a decal with no background, especially no white background.

As I posted earlier, I determined by studying flowered horns on eBay, that many, maybe all, were constructed from decals. As I isolated individual flower groupings in Photoshop, I noticed identical features repeated all over the horns. Some decals seem to have been "cut and pasted" to simulate variety, but man-oh-man, the details were the same.

This is not to say that some (or even many) horns were hand painted, of course. But look again at flowered horns for little zigs and zags in leaf and petal patterns and you will soon see that they are repeated over and over again in a way that is too regular to be hand painted.

John

welshfield wrote: As I posted earlier, I determined by studying flowered horns on eBay, that many, maybe all, were constructed from decals. As I isolated individual flower groupings in Photoshop, I noticed identical features repeated all over the horns. Some decals seem to have been "cut and pasted" to simulate variety, but man-oh-man, the details were the same.

This is not to say that some (or even many) horns were hand painted, of course. But look again at flowered horns for little zigs and zags in leaf and petal patterns and you will soon see that they are repeated over and over again in a way that is too regular to be hand painted.

John

Most decorated horns of the period were hand-painted. Hawthorne & Sheble is the only U.S. producer I'm aware of that used floral decals in its main line of horns - and then only after 1906 or so. The H&S decals were elongated in design so the stems of the flowers were deep in the neck of the horn and the blossoms/leaves were displayed toward the ends of the panels. Most hand-painted designs tend to suggest a "wreath" or "spray" of blossoms near the perimeter of the horn.

The Tea Tray Company made a big deal in its advertising in the Talking Machine World about how it would never stoop to using cheap "decalomania" on its horns. Interestingly, the small Babson Brothers flower horns use floral decals, and they show all the hallmarks of Tea Tray manufacture, but they are unmarked so perhaps the TTCo. thought decals were alright in that instance.

We show dozens of hand-painted floral horns in our books, as well a a photo taken in the Decorating Department of the Standard Metal Manufacturing Company showing a group of men hand-painting flowers on horns. Those artists were painting horns by the gross, so it would make sense that they had the details down to a science. Much like a signature - - virtually the same every time.

George P.

You can get a nice finish using spray cans , but the finish is all in the preparation so a good undercoat is essential.
As for the gold striping I use these gold paint pens similar to this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Krylon-Leafing-Go ... B003ZTNENS
The key to getting a nice line is to do it one bold stroke so you may need to practice.
Steve

Thanks for the input George P. I guess all the horns I examined (I did not analyze every horn I copied on eBay) were part of the "decalomania." But at least I was able to get some flowered decoration on an otherwise horribly overpainted, underrestored horn. I was able to buy this horn at a local antique shop for $40, painted a horrendous brown with about one-inch wide striping in a lighter tan--a bit like a circus decoration. It now fits well with my Triumph, so at least it is back in use. I suggest that using decals is at least one less-expensive way to bring a horn back to a presentable condition. By no means equivalent to having an artist hand paint the flowers. Maybe some day I will make the acquaintance of an artist who will over-paint these decals. I adamantly suggest that we all preserve the original flowered designs on these horns if at all possible, but in this case there was nothing to preserve.
John

John,

I agree with everything in your last post. Under the circumstances, there's certainly nothing bad or irreversible in what you did. Once the original paint/decorations have been lost, repainting/redecorating does no harm. You saved it!

George P.

Salutations to all,
I am new to this forum after joining this week,and have a question as to the proper painting of a Cygnet horn. This past December I acquired the above-mentioned Cygnet in N.Y.C. that although in excellent shape, was re-painted and re-painted purple at that! A client of our firm is the proprietor of a commercial aircraft painting concern to which he has sandblasted the horn to remove the "special purple paint", cleaned and prepped the base material prior to the application of two coats of primer and two topcoats of black. This will be followed by two applications of clear matte finish for protection after the new decals are applied and the ribs hand-painted in gold.It will then be followed by a commercial hand polishing agent.
The question I am posing at this time is,are the ribs on the inside of bell painted gold also as they are on the outside and edges? In pictures I have viewed, they are depicted as being painted inside and outside and other pictures showing the outside and edges only.In other words,how were the originals done? As to the gold paint used, is it a bright gold or a more subdued brown gold? I defer to those much more knowledgeable and experienced in this area than myself and it is my hope these questions can be answered. Thanking you in advance, I remain
James Kelly

If I were repainting a Cygnet I would give it an oak woodgrain finish. It was offered at a slightly higher price originally and, in my opinion, is much more interesting than a black Cygnet. Jerry B.