Good Afternoon,

I wonder if you are able, please, to give me advice regarding my son’s Clarinet which was willed to him some 15 years ago. We are not especially interested in it’s value, although if it is valuable it would be useful to know as more care should be taken of it!

I have had it identified by a company who specialize in instrument repairs here in Brisbane. The instrument in question is a Grand Prix B low pitch serial number 1010. It was difficult to identify as the stamping is very faint but it is definitely Martin Freres with the little fly.

At some time it has had a pinned repair on the section next to the mouthpiece. The repair is still in good order.

What we would really like to know is when it was manufactured, so if you could offer a guidance as whom I may contact who could help me establish this I would indeed be very grateful.

Best wishes and thank you in hopeful anticipation,

John R.

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John,

Thank you for your email.

The Grand Prix was a limited edition clarinet produced c1906-1914 by Martin Freres to coincide with the first Grand Prix races in France.

Unfortunately, we no longer have serial number to date-stamp data for such models so we cannot be certain of the exact date of manufacture. However, we can find no Grand Prix model advertisements after 1914.

The original advertisement can be found here:
https://martinfreres.net/j-b-martin-martin-freres-1913-instrument-advertisement/

Value estimations can be found here:
https://martinfreres.net/clarinetcatalog/how-much-is-my-martin-freres-clarinet-worth/

Identifying photo can be found here:
https://martinfreres.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/GrandPrix3.jpg

Thank you,
The Martin Freres Company Team