The pigtail crook. That’s what caught my attention. This bugle looked different from the one my trombonist son has lying around his room. It was larger, with that unique twist near the mouthpiece, and —it was definitely older.
I was taking photos for the estate sale company I work for, Sale by Gale. It was early June, and we were preparing for our first in-person sale since Covid-19 abruptly cleared our spring calendar. The sale would be an outstanding one. Bart Forbes and Tony Uribe’s home was filled with art—everything from pre-Columbian artifacts to Hanna-Barbera cartoon cells. The bugle was not a featured item.
Bart isn’t sure where the bugle came from. He just remembers his Mom using it as a central focus for floral designs. The bugle, festively adorned, spent many Christmas seasons on his family’s front door. It was priced for sale accordingly. As I photographed the instrument, I looked for markings—any clues to the bugle’s maker, use, or time period. Finding nothing, I thought I’d run it by Jeff Bonk, the owner of MusicRepairWorks in Lorton, Virginia. Jeff recently tended to my son’s trombone and was open to looking at any instruments we came across at our sales.
“Don’t clean it,” Jeff texted. He actually wrote that twice. He told me that the patina is attractive to people who collect period instruments. Jeff said “The rounded crook is definitely unique. It’s difficult to draw tubing that way.” Jeff suspected it might be a Civil War instrument. He wanted to check with a guy he knows and get back to me. In the meantime, I relayed the information to Gale Curcio, owner of Sale by Gale, and she adjusted the price for this seemingly special horn.
Enter Jari Villanueva, Jeff’s contact. Jari knows a thing or two about bugles and bugle calls. After a long career in the U.S. Air Force Band, he has continued to work and volunteer in a variety of roles, planning and supporting ceremonies for Veterans of the Armed Forces. He serves as an advisory member to Taps For Veterans, an organization whose motto is: 24 Notes, One Mission. They are dedicated to helping find live buglers for funerals and other commemorative events for Veterans.
Jari recently organized Taps Across America for Memorial Day. More than 4300 musicians from across the Nation played Taps at 3 p.m. local time, for a National Moment of Remembrance. There was an outpouring of support for this effort to bring people together in a new way during this time of stay at home orders and distanced celebrations. Jari was just the man to tell us more about this bugle and, he was also interested in purchasing it.
One evening in mid-June, Jari arrived at Gale’s house near Mount Vernon to close the deal. Jean Logan, another Sale by Gale staff member, and I wanted to be on hand to see the bugle off to its new owner. Jari was gracious in answering all our questions about his life, his work, and what he knew about the instrument in front of us. He told us that the bugle was a 19th-century brass infantry horn possibly used in the Civil War. He noted that soldiers used the bugle for signaling rather than playing music. The pigtail crook doesn’t just look impressive—it has a purpose. It is removable and changes the key of the horn from concert C to B-flat. It was common for these bugles to be unmarked, and many were imported from Europe during the Civil War. Jari was kind enough to play a couple of bugle calls for us to demonstrate.
Like most items that we sell at our estate sales, we can’t be sure how Jari will end up using this find. Perhaps it will again become a display piece— seen rather than heard. Or maybe it will be recalled to service to honor a Veteran. In any case, previous owners Bart and Tony along with the Sale by Gale team can be sure that this special horn has gone to the right person —someone who knows about bugles and their history and can sound the call.
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