There was a Modele 28 introduced in ... 1928. Here's a pretty one, s/n 7983. Take a look at the G#/C#/B/Bb cluster, especially. Rotating the pic a bit, it looks like ...
There are some other horns that have this G# cluster and a serial number from 1928. I'm calling those "Modele 28 Transitional" horns, because they're not stamped "Modele 28" and aren't New Largebores. So, if you want a serial number range for Modele 28 and Model 28 Transitional, a good approximation is 7851 to 112xx. However, there are some really odd exceptions:
s/n 9816 (1928). This is a Modele 26. Easiest way to tell: low Bb key doesn't have a roller.
s/n 10201 (1929). This is a Super. Easiest way to tell is the low B and Bb keyguard. I have another album of pics in my gallery that has a few better pics and it's definitely 10201. I think the serial number is just mis-stamped and should have been "18201."
s/n 10656 (1929). Another Modele 26.
The New Largebore was introduced at almost exactly s/n 112xx (1929). I base this, again, on when a new G# cluster design was introduced ...
Which is almost identical to the Modele 26, but the Bb now has a roller.
The Selmer Super Series (SSS) debuted in 1930, around serial 14xxx. If you look at Douglas Pipher's model chart and just at a bunch of horns, the "cigar cutter mechanism," which looks like this, doesn't follow an exact serial number chart, but appears sporadically all the way up until the Radio Improved horns were introduced (latest one I know of is s/n 18318). There are a few more things of interest in the SSS ...
* Horns were either not stamped at all -- which were probably horns sold in the domestic (French) market -- or were stamped "British Agent" or "Sole Agents US & CAN."
* There were four G# clusters available:
. You've already seen #1 and #4. The former was introduced on the New Largebore and latter was introduced on the Modele 28.
The "agent" stamp or lack thereof seems to have had some influence on which G# cluster you'd get, but it's not consistent. Listing the clusters from left to right in my pic, the farthest left (#1) was the most common. I only saw one instance of #2. #3 and #4 were most commonly found on horns that were unstamped or stamped "British Agent."
I've seen a couple of horns presented as "Jimmy Dorsey Models Series I" or similar. I have not seen the stamps on the bells of these horns. If there's a stamp that says "Radio Improved," it's just a Radio Improved horn with interesting engraving. Jimmy Dorsey horns look like these -- i.e. they're the ones with the funky keyguards. They all may only have the #1 G# cluster and all may have serial numbers in the 27xxx and 28xxx range. That's 1938/9 and deep into the Balanced Action run.
There are some other horns that have this G# cluster and a serial number from 1928. I'm calling those "Modele 28 Transitional" horns, because they're not stamped "Modele 28" and aren't New Largebores. So, if you want a serial number range for Modele 28 and Model 28 Transitional, a good approximation is 7851 to 112xx. However, there are some really odd exceptions:
s/n 9816 (1928). This is a Modele 26. Easiest way to tell: low Bb key doesn't have a roller.
s/n 10201 (1929). This is a Super. Easiest way to tell is the low B and Bb keyguard. I have another album of pics in my gallery that has a few better pics and it's definitely 10201. I think the serial number is just mis-stamped and should have been "18201."
s/n 10656 (1929). Another Modele 26.
The New Largebore was introduced at almost exactly s/n 112xx (1929). I base this, again, on when a new G# cluster design was introduced ...
Which is almost identical to the Modele 26, but the Bb now has a roller.
The Selmer Super Series (SSS) debuted in 1930, around serial 14xxx. If you look at Douglas Pipher's model chart and just at a bunch of horns, the "cigar cutter mechanism," which looks like this, doesn't follow an exact serial number chart, but appears sporadically all the way up until the Radio Improved horns were introduced (latest one I know of is s/n 18318). There are a few more things of interest in the SSS ...
* Horns were either not stamped at all -- which were probably horns sold in the domestic (French) market -- or were stamped "British Agent" or "Sole Agents US & CAN."
* There were four G# clusters available:
. You've already seen #1 and #4. The former was introduced on the New Largebore and latter was introduced on the Modele 28.The "agent" stamp or lack thereof seems to have had some influence on which G# cluster you'd get, but it's not consistent. Listing the clusters from left to right in my pic, the farthest left (#1) was the most common. I only saw one instance of #2. #3 and #4 were most commonly found on horns that were unstamped or stamped "British Agent."
I've seen a couple of horns presented as "Jimmy Dorsey Models Series I" or similar. I have not seen the stamps on the bells of these horns. If there's a stamp that says "Radio Improved," it's just a Radio Improved horn with interesting engraving. Jimmy Dorsey horns look like these -- i.e. they're the ones with the funky keyguards. They all may only have the #1 G# cluster and all may have serial numbers in the 27xxx and 28xxx range. That's 1938/9 and deep into the Balanced Action run.
