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I could also have titled this article “Things I got wrong” in the Geyer Dreaming series (which starts here), or the related article published in the February 2024 issue of The Horn Call.
An Email from Jonathan Ring
First, I want to thank Jonathan Ring for his very helpful note, which has quite a few details related to engravings, serial numbers and more.
Geyer and the Schmidt family
One key detail I had wondered and I thought I had seen somewhere, but could not subsequently find, was on the question of who exactly Carl Geyer had apprenticed to in Germany. According to Ring,
… Geyer apprenticed with L.A. Schmidt in Köln, Germany. L.A. Schmidt was C.F. Schmidt’s brother and had taken over the business from their father, F.A. Schmidt. This established the connection between Geyer and the Schmidt family which later became the source for many of the parts used by Geyer in the making of his horns.
Things Ericson got wrong
The main thing I got wrong in the article had to do with the serial numbers, with a closely related topic of engravings being one I did not address at all.
A serial number system, but not always followed
During the pandemic Ring worked on a project of cataloging Geyer engravings and serial numbers, crowdsourcing info through the Horn People group. The initial post may be found there on April 10, 2019, and the results are quantified further in PDF document posted on July 3, 2020.
The short answer is while the system as described (by Thomas Bacon) in my article (and also in the original series here) was used on at least some horns, for many — perhaps a majority? — the serial numbers are just numbers, perhaps of significance to the buyer, but it is not entirely clear.
In any case, this is the biggest mistake in the article, and I have encouraged Ring to further catalog his findings for possible publication in The Horn Call, I believe many would be interested in this topic.
Variations in engraving (and bracing) also point to dating of instruments
I should have also stated in the article a not necessarily obvious but important topic, that Geyer did not do his own engraving. All the engraving was done (by hand!) by a third party, certainly several different individuals over all those years of horn making. The differences in the engraving over the many years is a more reliable method of dating a horn generally than the serial number.
Specifically, Geyer 223, featured in the article, based on the engraving and bracing style, Ring believes it dates to the late 1930s or early 1940s. Which would also explain the unusual layout, he would have had more difficulty obtaining parts in that timeframe and had to make use of whatever high-quality valve section he could obtain.
Within the comments of the 2019 Horn People post I would also highlight this important one from the late Lowell Greer, “Most of the engraving was outsources (sic) to a man on Wabash St, but I’ve seen some blind stamped horns and ones with a soldered pre-engraved labels, as well.”
1,400 horns?
While I’m writing, I’ll add this item. Geyer estimated that he made around 1,400 horns over his career. Assuming a working period from about age 20 to 90, that is exactly 20 horns a year. On one hand, that sounds like a very plausible pace for a steady worker, but, on the other hand, Geyer also stated that it took him 3-4 weeks to build a horn. That would indicate no more than about 16 horns a year and a somewhat lower total overall output. Perhaps he included horns from his early apprentice years as well? Whatever the number, he accomplished a great deal as a horn builder!
Adding though, in any scenario, I would bet the total output of double horns was probably less than 1,000, as for sure in any total number of horn produced would include numerous single F and single Bb horns.
Much more to learn
I would close by again noting that there is much more that could be learned about Geyer and his horns, and for sure there are sources alive today that still have firsthand knowledge of Geyer and his shop. Perhaps some enterprising DMA student could think about this as a topic before it is too late?
