Mayers & Harrison from Manchester

Vintage, original state Bugle, horn

dented from use, but in good working condition with (original?) chain

Antique , around 100 years old ( world war 1 and / or boer war in south afrika era)

this is not a boy scout bugle

typical united kingdom antique

Joseph Higham

(Manchester, England 1842 – p1950)

Established in 1842 by Joseph Higham (b Manchester 1818; d Manchester 1883), the company was making instruments for the Army by 1852, and by 1863, they were supplying instruments for the Army and Navy and exporting them as well. In 1857, the firm patented the "clear bore system" for rotary valve brass instruments (GB # 123) and in 1895, the "echo bell" trombone (GB #13630). Higham’s cornets had a valve system which consisted of a piston traveling through what appears as a valve casing, operating a rotary valve. Patented by Higham in Great Britain 1857 (GB #123) (Eliason 1981, 44), these valves are much like those of FISKE, who patented the idea much later in 1866 in the United States (US #74331). Some cornets also had a patented quick-change key devise attached to the tuning slide to change the instrument from Bb to A, or vice versa (Rose [1995], 206-207). In 1860, Higham founded the 1st Manchester Volunteer Battalion Band. According to Talks with Bandsmen: A Popular Handbook for Brass Instrumentalists (Rose [1995], 202), he was the first manufacturer to offer instruments as prizes at Brass Band contests in England. He supported such events and helped to establish the Brass Band contest as a viable performing vehicle.

In 1852, William Hillyard (b Athlone, Ireland 1821; d ?Philadelphia) worked for Higham after apprenticing with his uncle, John McNeill in Dublin. He also worked for Henry DISTIN. In 1862, William opened his own instrument manufactory in London (1862-1894) and later in Philadelphia (1896-1897) as "Hillyard & Barnes." Between 1871 and 1882, the famous Alexandre Le Forestier worked for Higham in Manchester before going to J. W. PEPPER as foreman from 1888 to 1895.

In 1883, Higham’s son-in-law, Peter Robinson (b Salford 1835), succeeded him as owner of the company. In 1892, the firm had expanded so much that it opened a branch in London with R. D. Cubitt as manager. 1893, the company had already produced 46,000 instruments, according to their records. In 1894, the company had over 90 people on its payroll, most of them English by birth or naturalized as such. In c1904, the company began to produce woodwind instruments. Peter Robinson sold out his portion of the business in 1911. In 1923, "Mayers & Harrison" were the owners (Clifford Bevan, "Higham, Joseph," in The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments lists the date as 1930). In 1934, the owners became the "Premier Drum Company." During WWII, production of instruments ceased. After the war, "Mayers & Harrison" became the owners once again.

The firm was represented at the London International Exhibition of 1862, being awarded a medal for improving the tubular arrangement in cornets. In 1865, the company also won a medal in Dublin for their instruments(Clifford Bevan, "Higham, Joseph," in The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments). The company was represented at the Columbian Exhibition in Chicago in 1893 (Waterhouse 1993, 175).

Main references for the above were The New Langwill Index (Waterhouse 1994) and

Clifford Bevan, "Higham, Joseph," in The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments. Other references are listed throughout the entry.