How neat. Most Conns with that stamp I've seen tended not to have the brushed plastic finish, smooth instead. Sure looks like an Artley 18S to me!

Good review, thanks. For years I played on a very good Geo M Bundy 3 that was tossed in the case of some basket case clarinet.

Years later, Phil gifted me a Rico Reserve X5, and I've never had better.

Do you mean a light that shines down on the sheet music? I would think any walmart clip-on reading light should do the trick.

I haven't heard of Henry Pourcelle in years. Can you share a pic?

If you're a sax player, then Albert system fingerings might come a smidge easier. Still, it's a lot to learn for no real gain.

Also, most Alberts are very old and either in High Pitch, or otherwise not up to modern tuning standards. They're generally collector's items.

Noblets are nice. Try to avoid fixer-uppers unless you have the time, skill, and/or money to restore it. I'd spend a few hundred bucks on a nice used wood or hard rubber clarinet that plays right out of the box if I was you.

There's a thread years ago here:

https://clarinetpages.info/smf/index.php?topic=1200.0

I concluded that it might have been a Malerne stencil. These are good, but not worth a ton. I don't know the price on the one you're looking at, but if it's a standard French wood stencil, then it won't be worth too much.

If you could stretch the budget a bit, the Lyrique Noblissima , Backun Bliss or Kessler Solist are good clarinets.

One used to be able to find a used Bliss on eBay for $300. I doubt that's the case anymore, though.