Selmer Signet Soloist Serial Numbers

[Steven]

A few years I saw a list of Selmer serial numbers that led me to believe my Selmer Signet Soloist (sn 30165) had been manufactured sometime in 1957 or 1958.  More recently,  I saw a Selmer Signet Soloist (sn 26804) for sale on ebay whose seller claimed he purchased it from from the original owner who bought it brand new in 1977 ( https://www.ebay.com/itm/Selmer-Signet-Soloist-Clarinet-/393315717531?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286 ).  This relies on the assumed accuracy of the "original" buyer's memory (was it really a brand new instrument or was it a nicely refurbished one that looked new or ...) and is clearly at odds with the information I had seen.  However, I now cannot find the original serial number list I formed my opinion from.  I am aware that there are probably two separate lists - one for Selmer Paris and one for Selmer USA - to add to the confusion.  There was also a recently sold Selmer Signet Soloist ( https://www.ebay.com/itm/Beautiful-Selmer-Signet-Soloist-Wood-Clarinet-closet-find-/313389754123?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286 ) which included a photo of a receipt showing it was bought new on March 1, 1980.  The receipt indicates it had sn 307284.  (I am not sure if the sn is visible in any of the photos - viewing with my phone).  Does anybody have a link to a relevant sn list for Selmer Signet Soloists?

[DaveLeBlanc]

I don't and I doubt you'll find one. Conn-Selmer isn't very good at keeping records, it seems. Best we can do in these cases is rely on imperfect memory or sales receipts and try to reconstruct a timeline given enough source material.

[350 Rocket]

Unfortunately there is no serial number chart for the Signet Soloist. Selmer USA, for reasons undoubtedly lost to time, used a separate serial number sequence for the Soloist, and there's so few examples relative to other models that assembling one would be difficult.