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F.A. Reynolds

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F.A. Reynolds Double French Horns

In the late 1930s, Conn copied the Kruspe-Horner horn imported by Anton Horner (Philadelphia Orchestra, 1902-1940?) and produced the Model 8D. The initial batch of 8D's was sold to a group of students at the Curtis School of Music, where Horner taught, for significantly less than the Kruspe models he was selling. In turn, Horner added a Bb tuning slide to position his Kruspe-Horner horn as a newer, updated model. This is the horn shown in the 1938 Kruspe catalog.

Based on the layout of Reynolds' earliest known double horns, it can be speculated that Foster Reynolds saw Conn's commercial success with their copy of the Kruspe-Horner horn (the 8D) and decided to produce his own double-horn based on Horner's updated model (with Bb tuning slide).

At some point during the 1940s, Max Pottag became involved in either the horn's design or marketing, and the horn was designated as the "Reynolds Double Horn, Pottag Model". See the Pottag Model page for more details. In 1949, the Reynolds horn was rebranded as the Contempora Double Horn, Pottag Model.

Model History | Specifications

1936-1941 \| F.A. Reynolds (Cleveland)
	Model TBD \| Bb/F Double French Horn \| Bore: .472" \| Bell: 12"; medium bell throat \| Wrap: modified Kruspe-Horner (with Bb tuning slide) \| Materials: brass with nickel-silver slide tubes and bracing \| Finish: clear lacquer finish; optional silverplate SN 6777; photos used with permission from John Kirke-Omaha.
1941-1946 \| F.A. Reynolds (Cleveland)
	Model TBD \| Bb/F Double French Horn \| Bore: .472" \| Bell: 12"; medium bell throat \| Wrap: modified Kruspe-Horner (with Bb tuning slide) \| Materials: brass with nickel silver slide tubes and trim \| Finish: clear lacquer finish SN 18568. Photo source: eBay.
1946-1949 \| F.A. Reynolds (Cleveland)
	Pottag Model \| Bb/F Double French Horn \| Bore: .472" \| Bell: 12"; medium bell throat \| Wrap: modified Kruspe-Horner (with Bb tuning slide) \| Materials: brass with nickel silver slide tubes and trim; some models have nickel-silver bell tone ring \| Finish: clear lacquer finish SN 20074. Photos used with permission from Eli Kronenberg.