He decided to try adhering rubber stamp material to the rim of a mouthpiece which he hoped would conform to his lips.

In addition to running his store, Conn also made rubber stamps and re-plated silverware. Conn's upper lip was severely lacerated, and it pained him so to play his cornet that he thought his playing days were over. There are three existing stories of how this occurred, but the popularly accepted version is that Del Crampton slugged him in the mouth outside a saloon where both of them had been drinking. Conn's entrance into the musical instrument manufacturing business was the result of a split lip. He also played cornet in the local community band. Army who, after the war, established a grocery and baking business in Elkhart, Indiana. 1.5 The Paul Gazlay - Lee Greenleaf era, 1949-1969.1.2 Growth of Conn's musical instrument business.Conn survived as a brand of musical instruments manufactured by Conn-Selmer, retaining several instruments for which it was known: the Conn 8D horn, 88H trombone, 62H bass trombone, 52BSP trumpet and the 1FR flugelhorn. The assets of UMI were bought by Steinway Musical Instruments in 2000 and in January 2003 were merged with other Steinway properties into a subsidiary called Conn-Selmer. The company was sold in 1980 and then again in 1985, reorganized under the parent corporation United Musical Instruments (UMI) in 1986. Conn was divested of its Elkhart production facilities in 1970, leaving remaining production in satellite facilities and contractor sources. In 1969 the company was sold in bankruptcy to the Crowell-Collier-MacMillan publishing company.

During the 1950s the bulk of its sales revenue shifted to electric organs.

Its early business was based primarily on brass instruments, which were manufactured in Elkhart, Indiana. It bought the production facilities owned by Charles Gerard Conn, a major figure in early manufacture of brasswinds and saxophones in the USA. Conn Ltd., sometimes called Conn Instruments or commonly just Conn, is a former American manufacturer of musical instruments incorporated in 1915.

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