I've been in reactive mode since some nasty incidents, but I gotta share this.
Interesting day today.
My horoscope for today read in part that I should look at/into antiques. So when I caught a flea market from the window of the bus into Manhattan, I went and checked out the annual Hells Kitchen flea market.
There was a trumpet there: silver in color and sleek and slimine that caught my eye. Dude wanted $100. It had a stuck valve and a slightly crushed middle valve pipey-thing and the mouthpiece-end was bent. But something TOLD me to buy it.
I offered him $20. He wanted $60. I said $30. He asked for $50. My final offer was $40. He declined, I started to walk away, he followed.
So I walked out of there carrying it.
By the time I'd walked four blocks, I'd straightened the valve and unstuck it by hand, and straightened out the tubing at the mouthpiece. I have EXTREMELY strong hands and bent it carefully like lead.
So I decide "dad gummit, might as well pick up an intro book on trumpet" and grabbed an $8,99 Essentials 2000 book at Sam Ash. While I was there the staff approached me and asked where I had obtained the instrument I was holding.
He asks if he can check it out, I tell him he can play it if he wishes, as I cannot.
He brings it to his lips and it sounds rich. Wow. Confirms it's a Bflat, but it's a "peashooter" style, and has a strange stencil but no real maker markings.
He advises me, STRONGLY, to go online and find out what the fuck I bought. I do, and find out I have a very very rare Huller pre WWII trumpet. It apparently can convert to a C trumpet from a B flat.
It is worth much more than $40, but as to the final price, that's up to an appraiser.
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