Description
It's always a delight when a curiosity comes into the workshop - it brings with it an almost magical sense of the unknown.
Consider this - if someone dumped a Martin or a Conn in your lap, and you'd never heard of the particular model, you'd at least have some idea of what to expect when you blew the horn (assuming you'd blown a few other models from those manufacturers in your lifetime).
But when someone hands you a horn from a manufacturer you might never even have heard of, all you have to go on is what your eyes and ears tell you. Without the benefit of anyone else's comments rattling around in your head ("These horns are great/rubbish/out of tune/amazing" etc. ) you can do nothing more than assess the instrument for what it actually is. And what exactly is the Pierret Competition alto. . . ?
The Pierret company started life in 1906 and survived until the early 1970s - though production seems to have stopped around 1960. They only ever made saxophones (as far as anyone can tell), and apparently had a bit of a reputation amongst the French classical players. In later years, Pierret supposedly made stencil horns for the likes of Olds and Buescher.
Dating this horn is liable to be a hit and miss affair, even the company's later horns had a very distinct 'vintage' look about them - and this particular horn has features that could place it as early as 1930 or as late as 1960.