That was one huge and impressive workshop. This story is quite fascinating to me because even though there was not internet in 1875, it was a smaller world, particularly in brass instrument manufacture. The degrees of separation were mostly single digits. Above I mentioned Henry Distin, a brass instrument innovator that emigrated to New England and worked with and/or trained quite a few of the New England brass makers.
Henry Distin had worked for Besson in both France and England before coming to America. From the article linked above,
"About this time Conn met Eugene Victor Baptiste Dupont (b. Paris ?May 1832; d. Washington, D.C. 26 July 1881), a brass instrument maker and designer and a former employee of Henry Distin of London."I had not known there was a connection, albeit indirect between Distin and Conn. The link was Eugene Dupont, Conn's original partner. In that indirect way, Distin, who also came to America to capitalize on his patents, was also involved in the chain of events leading to Conn's opportunity. Not all men would have risen to that opportunity.
After Conn lost his fortunes, that is whatever remained of them after he enjoyed a long life spending his fortunes, he also wrote a few books that express his rather optimistic approach to living. I've read a little of one of them and it is clear that this fellow was as much a 19th century thinking philosopher as he was an instrument maker and manufacturing tycoon.
But he really didn't know much about woodwinds. He delegated that to Harry Pedler. That is why I refer to the early Conn clarinets as stealth Harrys.
