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Should the brass collar be polished?

Was there ever pinstriping on the inside of the bell?

Hi- I can answer your pinstriping question. This came up many years ago on TMF.. When I get a chance I'll try to search for that conversation.

Anyway-- At that time, it was stated that Edison Cygnets did not have pinstriping on the inside- I had to quickly differ with that opinion because, at the time, I've had two #10 cygnets in my collection that had faint, thin gold strips along side the inside seam of the horn. I still have one of them-- see pics below. The striping actually shows up better in the pictures than in person. but it is there. AND-- I have also had cygnet bells without inside striping--- Still have one of those, too.

As to polishing the collar on a cygnet. I like the patina of aged brass-- Might just be a matter of taste. My guess would be that the collars were originally a brighter brass, but that's more of a guess than anything.

Hope this helps.

Brad Abell

Here is link to the previous forum thread i referenced above-
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=32623&p=193891&hili ... es#p193891

Brad Abell

Thank you for the replies and the link.

My belief is that they were not polished. They may have been "bright", as would be the case with newly formed brass, but not intentionally polished. Any proof to the contrary would be welcomed.

UPDATE! I began to question my own words, got up off my butt, and went to one of my #10 cygnet horns. The collar is neither polished, nor unpolished. It's painted gold. I can even see where some paint has chipped off a bit. This horn is totally original.

Here's another tidbit... On the inside of the horn, at least 3 panels show thin striping, as pictured above, while the remainder show no signs of striping at all. Go figure I have questioned whether this "striping" may have been a thin line of rust, but it definitely appears to be painted.