Fall 2026 Militaria and Aviation Auction
Lot 1:
Description
WWI-WWII US Regulation M1892 Field Bugles, Matched Pair, Herco & Conn 3C. A matched pair of Model 1892-pattern U.S. Regulation field trumpets in the key of G, each bell stamped U.S. REGULATION in block letters, fitted respectively with silver-plated Herco and Conn 3C mouthpieces. This lot comprises two brass field trumpets built to the long-serving Model 1892 pattern, the instrument that carried the calls of American military life – reveille, mess, taps – through both World Wars. No maker’s name, branch stamp, or quartermaster depot mark appears on either horn beyond the U.S. REGULATION stamp on the bell throat, so no individual unit history or named user can be established for this pair; their story rests in the pattern itself rather than in a documented chain of issue. When the Army standardized the G-key field trumpet in 1892, and the Navy and Marine Corps followed suit during the First World War, demand for regulation-pattern horns soon outpaced official production. Commercial manufacturers – firms such as Rexcraft and Buglecraft among them – stepped into the gap, stamping their instruments U.S. REGULATION to signal conformity with the approved military pattern even though the horns were never issued through a depot. Bugles of this type equipped ROTC cadets, National Guard buglers, VFW and American Legion honor guards, Boy Scout troops, and civilian drum and bugle corps from the interwar years through the Second World War, making them a familiar sound at parades, funerals, and encampments across the country for more than three decades. Both trumpets share the standard Model 1892 configuration: a single coiled length of drawn brass terminating in a flared bell, with a soldered cord loop at the first bow, and the U.S. REGULATION stamp clearly struck into the bell throat of each. The brass on both shows a warm, uncleaned patina with scattered tarnish, and the coppery brazed seams at the tubing joints are visible on close inspection, consistent with period commercial construction. One trumpet retains its original silver-plated mouthpiece, script-engraved Herco; the second is fitted with a silver-plated Conn 3C, its shank stamped with the model designation. The lot comprises the two bugles and their two mouthpieces only; no cases, slings, or accompanying paperwork are present. Condition is honest and consistent with decades of handling: both bells and tubing show scattered denting along the tapered branches and back bows, moderate surface scratching, and overall age patina and tarnish across the brass and copper-toned brazed joints. Both mouthpieces display typical silver-plating wear and light surface marring but retain crisp, legible maker stamps. The cord loops and braces on both horns appear structurally intact; playing condition and pitch have not been independently tested. A solid, display-ready pair of matched U.S. Regulation field trumpets that speaks to the widespread civilian and quasi-military use of the classic Model 1892 bugle pattern across two world wars.
Share this lot:
