Bach Mouthpiece Dealer Display Cases
Vincent Bach Corporation provided Bach Mouthpiece Display Assortments for dealers to promote and sell Bach mouthpieces. These typically included trumpet, cornet, tenor trombone, bass trombone, alto horn, mellophone, french horn, and Bb tuba/bass mouthpieces.
During the New York and Mt. Vernon eras, they were sold directly to dealers with various mouthpiece sizes. They did not include consistent mouthpiece sizes but what was considered ‘popular’ then. It is surmised that Bach sometimes provided leftover sizes from the factory to move inventory.
These types of mouthpiece cases (beyond one to four) were reintroduced for sale to individuals in the 2000s, as brass instrument players started using them to store their various mouthpiece collections.
Examples from early Bach catalogs and various sizes by fellow Bach loyalists are shared below.
Vincent had various display cabinets available for dealers to promote and sell his Vincent Bach mouthpieces. These cases were expensive for the time ($98), which was quite an investment for a dealer.
The “Bach Means Quality” marketing tagline first appears in 1935, so the examples below would be from the post 1935 era. This design ultimately proved too expensive for most Vincent Bach Corporation dealers at that time, and led to the development and sales of dealer cases.
Later in the 1930s, Vincent Bach transitioned to a dealer case, similar to a small briefcase, as shown below.
source: from the Bill Cable collection
Mt. Vernon (1957 Price List)
No. 15 Assortment (1958)
Consisting of the most popular models:
- 7 trumpet
- 3 cornet
- 1 French horn
- 4 Trombone
List Price $129
No. 22 Assortment (1958)
The most popular models:
- 8 trumpet
- 3 cornet
- 4 Tenor Trombone
- 1 Bass Trombone
- 2 French horn
- 1 Alto
- 1 Mellophone
- 2 BBb tuba
List Price $199
No. 30 Assortment (1958)
Consisting of 30 genuine Bach Mouthpieces of the best-selling varieties:
- 11 trumpet
- 7 cornet
- 5 Tenor Trombone
- 1 Bass Trombone
- 1 Alto Horn
- 1 Mellophone
- 2 French horn
- 2 BBb tuba
No. 50 Assortment (1958)
Consists of 50 best selling varieties of genuine Bach Mouthpieces:
- 24 trumpet
- 9 cornet
- 2 French horn
- 1 Alto
- 1 Mellophone
- 10 Tenor Trombone
- 1 Bass Trombone
- 2 BBb tuba
In what is believed to be the earliest known Vincent Bach mouthpiece case, this example dates to before 1922, when Vincent Bach Corporation was founded. This example includes a Vincent Bach silk banner later found in other earliest Bach trumpets from 1924-1925.
source: from the Bill Cable collection
No. 15 Assortment
source: from the collection of Jason Leon (22, 50)
source: from the collection of Fred Cirksena, formerly Quality Brass
source: from the BachLoyalist collection (15)
No. 9 Assortment
No. 22 Assortment
No. 50 Assortment
source: from the collection of Jason Leon (22, 50)
source: from the collection of Fred Cirksena, formerly Quality Brass
source: from the BachLoyalist collection (15)
1970s version – Rectangle (~ 22 pieces)
The New York & Mt. Vernon style mouthpiece cases were still available in the early Elkhart era (1970s) before transitioning to the examples below in the 1990s. This example catalog C. Bruno & Son’s listing showed this Vincent Bach Corporation style in their 1974 catalog.
source: shared by HefDawg
1990s version – Rectangle (~ 48 pieces)
Bach-branded mouthpiece display cases were available to consumers and dealers in the 1990s and updated in the early 2010s. Both examples are shown below.
1990s version – Square (19 pieces)
2020s version – Square (24 pieces)
Conn Selmer
source: Selmer catalogs, Conn Selmer catalogs
