Bach Stradivarius - 'Faciebat Anno' bell markings
Vincent Bach added the ‘Faciebat Anno YEAR’ bell stamp to his early Stradivarius-branded trumpets, starting in late 1925/early 1926, and continued until approximately 1931. This same practice was followed on very early Bach Stradivarius trombones manufactured from 1929 to 1931.
It should be noted, that the use of Faciebat Anno was re-introduced on the limited edition Bach New York 7, model 197 in 2007 – 2008. Examples of this bell can be found below.
The ‘Faceibat Anno’ bell stamp was found on Bach Stradivarius trumpets from approximately 1926 to 1931. The earliest known example is the Bach Stradivarius, serial number 16, shown below, which had a 1925 date stamp. There was no mention of this marking on the shop cards of early Bach instrument shop cards, but this stamp was a common practice on early Bach Stradivarius instruments until approximately 1931.
When manufactured, Bach Stradivarius bells would be stamped ‘Faciebat Anno 19′. They would include Stradivarius, Model, and Vincent Bach’s signatures, and the first ’19.’ The last two digits were not stamped, allowing Vincent’s factory to apply the last two digits when the instrument was sold. This is also why the LAST two digits appear to have been hand-stamped.
Vincent Bach did not add the “Faciebat Anno” stamp to his other Bach-branded trumpets of this era, such as the Apollo and Mercury brands that were introduced in late 1925.
Translated from Latin, “Faciebat Anno” means “made in the year.”
“Faciebat Anno” was commonly seen inside the body of vintage-era violins, such as Stradivarius violins. As Vincent applied the brand ‘Stradivarius’ to his trumpets, he sought to follow the centuries-old tradition associated with violins.
The famous violin maker, Antonius Stradivari, would apply ‘Stradivarius’ and the year of creation to his violins. Over time, this practice of adding the label was adopted by other violin makers across Europe and beyond, both as a homage to classical lutherie and as a marker of the violin’s authenticity.
source: Robb Stewart Brass
1925
Serial #: 16
Bell: T (also known as the #1 bell)
Mouthpipe: unknown
Bore: Large (0.462″)
Bach Stradivarius trumpet, serial #16, is the earliest known example of Vincent using ‘Faciebat Anno’ on his trumpets.
1926
Serial #: 126
Bell: T (also known as the #1 bell)
Mouthpipe: 2
Bore: Large (0.462″)
Source: Reverb
1927
Serial #: 855
Bell: 6
Mouthpipe: 6
Bore: Large (0.462″)
source: Robb Stewart Brass
1928
Serial #: 959
Bell: 6
Mouthpipe: 6
Bore: Large (0.462″)
This trumpet was built for Nic Meyer, one of Vincent’s earliest investors in his company, in 1928. Nic Meyer briefly served as Vice President of the Vincent Bach Corporation in the late 1920s.
source: J. Landress Brass
1929
Serial #: 1364
Bell: 6
Mouthpipe: 6
Bore: Large (0.462″)
Max Schlossberg (1873 – 1936) Bach Stradivarius 6L bell / 6 mouthpipe . Schlossberg was a member of the New York Philharmonic trumpet section from 1910 to 1936 and the founder of the American School of trumpet playing.
source: Guy Dumay collection
1930
Serial #: 1461
Bell: 6L
Mouthpipe: 6
Bore: Large (0.462″)
source: National Music Museum
1931
Serial #: Unknown
This bell (New York #7) was added to a Bb trumpet to create an Echo trumpet. The main body of the trumpet is not a Vincent Bach Stradivarius model; instead, a #7 bell was added to create a custom trumpet.
source: Horn-U-Copia
1934 Examples
The Faciebat Anno 1934 stamp was applied to a small number of Bach Stradivarius Bb trumpets from the New York era, which were manufactured earlier and sold in 1934.
Serial number #707 was a Bach Rotary trumpet, mfg. in 1926, but sold in 1934. The instrument’s bell was stamped ’34’, when it was sold.
Serial # 715 was a Bach Eb/D trumpet, mfg. in 1926, but appears to have been sold in 1934. The ’34’ was added to the instrument.
source: Reverb
Modern Examples (2007 - 2008)
The Faciebat Anno bell engraving was reintroduced on the limited-edition Bach New York 7 model 197 in 2007-2008. This was added to the bell to celebrate Vincent Bach’s early New York designs, including the #7 bell first used in 1930.
This example is from serial number #1295, manufactured in 2007.
Vincent Bach built the first Bach trombone in June 1929; therefore, there are not many examples of a ‘Faciebat Anno’ bell stamp being used, as Vincent discontinued the use of ‘Faciebat Anno’ around 1931.
Here is a known example of a Bach Stradivarius “Faciebat Anno” trombone bell stamp, from Bach Stradivarius Model 10T, bell stamp 401, serial number #74, manufactured & sold in 1932.
source: J. Landress Brass
source: Above instrument sources, and BachLoyalist research
