| |
During my January 7, 2007 visit to his home in Burbank, Califormia, Donald Benge gave
me a number of items of memorabilia. One of the most interesting was the printing plate for
an advertisement that was used for the June 1939 issue of Down Beat magazine.
Used only once, this ad has two notable features. Here, for the first time, he refers to himself
as "formerly" the first trumpet of the Chicago Symphony, as his final season with the orchestra
would have ended by this point. Also, this would be the final time that he refers to his trumpets as
"Hand-tempered," which helps to date the manufacture of the early Benges, since, in the September
ads
he changes the wording to "Resno-tempered." Although there is no way to know the exact date
of the change, we may safely assume that all trumpets with "Hand-tempered" stamped on the
bell
were made prior to September 1939, and all with "Resno-tempered" were made after June 1939.
No Benge ads were placed in Down Beat during July or August 1939.
__________________________________________________
|
