Label :	Ed. Kruspe Erfurt D.R.G.M.  1027194
Model:	Full Double
Serial Number:	None
Date of Manufacture:	ca. 1933
Key(s):	F,  B♭, E, and A
Valves:	4 rotary
Bore:
Bell Flare:
Bell Throat:
Bell Diameter:
Base Metal:	Brass
Finish:	unlacquered
. (click on photos for larger view)
The horn shown above is an early example of the Walter Kruspe model double horn first produced in 1928 by the firm of Ed. Kruspe.   The design was registered as D.R.G.M.1027 194 on March 13, 1928, under the title Doppelhorn mit getrennt liegenden B- und F-Maschinennzügen" [Double horn with separate branches B- and F- machine pathways].1 This design is the same in function as the "Horner" and "Fritz" models (D.R.G.M. 232038, 1904) but has added to it  a separate tuning slide to the B♭side of the horn making it possible to tune the each side of the horn independently. The B♭slide and main tuning slide are on the front of the horn while the F tuning slide is on the back (player's) side. 2  Walter Kruspe (1904- ?) was the son of Fritz (ca.1862 - 1909) and Aguste (Krutschmar) Kruspe, born April 16, 1904, making him the fourth generation of the Kruspe musical instrument family in Erfurt.3 Walter's father, Fritz Kruspe, was the son of Eduard Kruspe, founder of the firm Ed. Kruspe. Fritz took over the management of the firm from his father in 1893 which he managed until his untimely death in November 1909 at the age of 47. Fritz' widow assumed ownership of the company on May 9, 1916 (see clipping below). In 1926 twenty-year-old Walter received D.R.G.M. 989270  for brass instrument mouthpieces (see 1929 catalog page, below) and in 1928 is credited for the model horn that bears his name. That year, Walter's brother-in-law, Georg Wendler, took over management of Firma Ed. Kruspe. It is conjectured that as the male heir, Walter felt he was entitled to take over the company himself and it is conjectured that he had a falling out with the family. For whatever reason, he no longer appeared in the Erfurt registry of residents in 1929, and nothing is know of him since. 1929 Kruspe catalog, courtesy of Dirk Arzig,
Image from the 1929 Kruspe catalog, courtesy of Dirk Arzig,

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  Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Dirk Arzig, BrassTacks.De  for permission to use his images from the 1929 Ed. Kruspe catalog.

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Notes

1.  D.R.G.M. stands for Deutsches Reichsgebrauchsmuster, a registration created in 1891 for the purpose of protecting for three years the design or function of an item throughout all of the German states. D.R.G.M. registered products were protected either for their way of intended use or design, but this did not include patent protection. Patent rights were secured by applying for a Deutsches Reichspatent (D.R.P.).
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2. The title of D.R.G.M. 232038 (1904) is Doppelzylindermechanik für Metallblasinstrumente, mit neben und parallel zu den Zylinderdoppelventilen angeordneten, zu einem Zylinder in einem Gehäuse vereinigten Stellventilen. [ Double cylinder mechanism for brass instruments, alongside of and parallel to the double cylinder valves, in one cylinder housing as a combined control valve.]  This is descriptive of the change valve, but does not describe the layout of the tubing or "wrap".  Several Kruspe horn models were produced under D.R.G.M. 232038 including the familiar "Horner", an early version with slightly a different wrap, and the "Fritz" model that didn't have the secondary F tuning slide.
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3. The New Langwill Index (1993, p.217) is in error, placing Walter and his sister, Ilse as children of Eduard Kruspe (1871 - 1919), son of Frederick Wilhelm Kruspe (1838 - 1911) and nephew of Eduard Kruspe (1831 - after 1909), founder of the brass workshop Ed. Kruspe. The younger Eduard Kruspe,  who was the successor thier father'st firm of C. Kruspe,  died on November 3, 1919. From the Zeitschrift für Instrumentenbau article shown above it is clear that he was not the son of Eduard Kruspe (1871 - 1919), since his father had died before 1916, and was probably in fact Fritz Kruspe (ca. 1864-1909),
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  References

Langer, Arne, "Familien- und Firmenchronik", Musikinstrumente von Weltrang, Die Firma Kruspe in Erfurt,  Stadtmuseum und Theater Erfurt, 2012

Waterhouse, William, The New Langwill Index of Wind Instrument Makers and Inventors, pub.Tony Bingham, London 1993

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