Burnished Gold Plating


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Posted by Volker on August 06, 2002 at 06:27:08:

Does anyone know, what tuba/sousa manufactureres besides Conn and White offered BURNISHED entirely gold plated horns, and how the quantity relation was in comparison to the complete production output? In the BBS archive I learnt from Bob's catalogs extractions, that a burnished gold plated horn quoted almost the double of the basic polished brass price, so I suppose in the economically depressed roaring 20s/30s there might not have been too many sales for that luxus.
Technic-historically it's very interesting, since the dazzling burnished gold sheen was created by repeatedly stroking the entire plated surface with a highly polished tool steel iron until absolute brilliance was achieved. The burnishing process was applied by skilled craftsmen of the highest order, to whom time was of little concern. Besides this, it was quite harmful to do the job because of the quicksilver that was used as a solvent.
Any contribution to this topic would be highly appreciated.
Thanks, Volker


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