06/19/09 157 W, 2 I - + 14 - 13 Trumpets


For your Friday enjoyment, here's a pair of illustrations from a reproduction of the 1912 catalog of the C. G. Braxmar Co. of New York, makers of fire and police department badges and other supplies. Trumpets, or speaking trumpets, served as megaphones on the fireground, so fire company officers could be heard above the roar of flames and the din of crowds. They might below bellow orders, for example, to the dozens of men manning the hand engines. Two types of trumpets are illustrated below, a duty trumpet and a presentation or parade trumpet. The latter is most familiar to most people. These were ceremonial trumpets, often inscribed. They were not intended for use at fire scenes. Many survive today, and are common fixtures at fire museums. What eras were speaking trumpets used? Need to check that. Are speaking trumpets the same thing as bugles on badges? Yes, believe so. Click once or twice to enlarge:
 




“Are speaking trumpets the same thing as bugels on badges?”

That would be correct. The trumpets came to represent authority and leadership on scene, and that’s why it came to be the insignia of FD officers.
attic.rat - 06/19/09 - 18:14

You mean “bellow orders”, not “below orders”
Paul - 06/19/09 - 18:21

Yup, ditto attic rat. I think it was just someones’ error to call them “bugles” and it spread.
Silver - 06/19/09 - 21:42



  
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