Echo cornet with 4 Périnet valves and one shank. Index card reads: "Echo" cornet with muted bell additional to open bell and valve for change over. Three Perinet valves, two fold water key. One shank. Plated brass. In wooden case. Late 19th or early 20th century. Lacks mouthpiece. Plating shows wear. Valves apparently in order. No serious denting, and should be playable. One joint needs securing.
The echo cornet is a duplex instrument, meaning that it is capable of creating two different instrumental sounds, and that the player can switch freely between them. The only other duplex instrument to have achieved any real popularity was the double-bell euphonium, which had an additional bell with a narrow bore to allow it to sound like a trombone. The echo cornet has a second bell for producing a muted tone without having to place a mute in the main bell. This allows the player to switch between the 'open' and the muted tone instantaneously; an advantage in brass bands, where musical arrangements often require such quick changes.
