This is some really neat stuff!! One day we're going to compile all your cool stuff into a book or something
Maybe we can call it ClarinetPages?
What would I do with the information if Phil hadn't made this possible? He wanted some help clearing up the stencil questions. One line of investigation led to another. Who said, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it."?
And there is you maintaining the forum, and everyone else that might be remotely interested? One can't write without a publisher. Research, even this, is the result of teamwork here. I'll admit, I'm getting into territory that is heretofore obscure question marks in the index of Hoeprich's book. We can no longer accept the idea that the "stencil" names were not real people, nor that these names were chosen without appreciation for those people. I am sure it will not apply in every case. We do see enough examples to demonstrate that this was a practice of French makers, or at least one or two French makers, and indicates that practice was common in the late 19th C. and early 20th C.
This most obvious example was sitting under my nose for a couple of years at least. On my desk functioning as a pencil holder is a really nice Bakelite bell, marked "Monet".
