Pocket trumpets engraved with the name 'Bessons and Co.' are actually made not in London, but in India or Pakistan. This 'company' should not be confused with 'Besson' without the 's'. These imitation instruments are little more than ornaments, and by reputation, generally unplayable even by competent players. They have fake serial numbers; H 75983 or 84059 and hexagonal finger buttons.

I have blown and dismantled one I was given a few months ago. It was soldered together satisfactorily, and the brass itself seemed normal enough. The sound it made could be generously described as raucous, and the pitch certainly wasn't the Bb I know! The valves were badly designed with crowded, occluded ports, and the top valve caps were awkward and easy to cross-thread. The waterkey was a feeble object which I wouldn't trust on any brass instrument. Many of these pocket trumpets are also inscribed with names such as 'Boosey' or 'Heley', which have no connection with historical companies bearing these names. These replicas are certainly not antiques, and their often smart new cases give the game away. I have often seen them advertised on eBay as 'rare', and that is pretty amusing when you see two or three on the same page, all bearing the same serial number!

The typical engraved 'Bessons & Co' bell

  How secure would this be?

                                                                                                        Note the occluded upper port

Some parents have bought 'Bessons and Co'  pocket trumpets etc. for their children to learn on, and have been disappointed that they can't make progress. Any old battered trumpet which works properly is better than a smart-looking toy which cannot be played at all!

The Jupiter brand is reputedly one the best of the reasonably priced pocket trumpets available if you want to buy one that actually works.

It doesn't end there! Larger 'Bessons & Co' instruments such as full-sized trumpets, cornets, mellophones, flugel horns, saxophones and euphoniums can also be seen from time to time on eBay, all with the same phony serial numbers. The euphoniums, for example, have a tuning slide set between the mouthpipe and valve block, hexagonal finger buttons and a projecting keel-like reinforcing bar on the bottom bow which is more reminiscent of continental instruments. If you buy one, it might play, but don't pay a lot of money and expect a real Besson!

27/3/08 An interesting update is that I have recently come across two examples of military bugles appearing on eBay from Australia/NZ  bearing the serial number H75983. Both instruments looked very old, and were stamped 'Besson & Co', this time without the extra 's'. Having sought expert advice, I discovered that early Besson bugles did not actually get stamped with serial numbers, and so I can reasonably conclude that these too would almost certainly have been fakes, perhaps dating back to much earlier in the 20th century than the usual counterfeits seen on eBay.