Leblanc B-Flat Trumpet, used by Charlie Shavers: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This trumpet was made by Georges Leblanc in Paris, France around 1960 to1965. It is a 770 Conrad Gozzo B-flat trumpet, serial #16674, made of brass with 3 piston valves. This trumpet is engraved:

This trumpet was previously owned by Charles James “Charlie” Shavers (1920-1971), an American jazz trumpeter, who performed with jazz greats such as, Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday, Sidney Bechet, and Lucky Millinder.

Conrad J. Gozzo (1922–1964) was an American trumpet player. He was a highly respected lead trumpeter and greatly in demand as a studio musician performing with music luminaries as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Les Brown, Pete Rugolo, and Henry Mancini.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1950-1965
• maker: G. Leblanc Corporation
• Object Name: trumpet
• Physical Description: brass (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 19 in x 4 3/4 in x 6 in; 48.26 cm x 12.065 cm x 15.24 cm
• Measurements: trumpet: 4 7/8 in x 6 1/2 in x 19 in; 12.3825 cm x 16.51 cm x 48.26 cm
• Measurements: mouthpiece: 3 7/16 in x 1 1/16 in; 8.73125 cm x 2.69875 cm
• place made: France: Île-de-France, Paris
• ID Number: 1983.0479.01
• accession number: 1983.0479
• catalog number: 1983.0479.01
• Credit Line: Gift of Blanche Shavers
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.