. Also what do the bands mean on a horn...?
I'm gonna take a shot at your question on bands; if a horn is worn long enough and rubs against a bag, your body, saddle,etc...a hole will be worn in it or it will become very thin. If a band is put on at about the middle or ware area it wares before the horn. The earliest I have seen is from just before the Rev war, not so say the band could have been added later. My thinking is that over the years more bands were added more for decoration that function. Most are seen with Southern origin but bands were being placed at the butt of horns in Philadelphia early on, c1755, I'm thinking they were more for decoration.
M2CW
Tim C.