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LeBlanc Noblet clarinets
Emblems
ABOVE: Case emblem from an early Noblet 40
Early Noblet 40 1960’s Brochure – 1
Early Noblet 40 1960’s Brochure – 1
Receipt from early Noblet 40Below Ad for a model 145, which is
the Artist 45 with hand selected grenadilla wood.
LeBlanc
Noblet clarinet Information[ Early Emblems ] [ Early Shared throat keys Noblet 40 ] [Noblet Stubbins ] [ Early Noblet 40 ] [ Super 40 ] [ Noblet 40
Special ] [ Noblet 27 ] [ Noblet 40 ] [ Plateau 40 ] [ Noblet 45 ] [ Noblet 45 Artist ] [ Noblet 45 Laureate ] [ Brochures / Prices ] [ Serial Numbers ] |
| Early Noblet Clarinets |
Harken back to the older days of Noblet when Noblet – Thibouville manufactured clarinets. This C clarinet
is an example of a simple Albert keywork back when Boxwood was the preferred choice.
   
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Not sure on the age of this emblem – boxwood
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The Earliest “Modern”
Noblets – shared throat key posts |
The Earliest Noblets – The really early Noblets actually had shared posts on the throat keys. 3 posts
versus 4 which is most common. There is nothing wrong with the really early Noblets it’s just an identifier of their age being some of the first of the “modern” Noblets of the 1940s through 1990s. The early Noblet 40s were over engineered clarinets. Each post had a set screw and each post had a set screw tab on it. It’s amazing looking at the clarinet itself. I will provide some before and after pictures of this amazing early Noblet 40. The oddest part of this Noblet is the emblem. It clearly is the more complex emblem. But if you look below at the three versions of the lyre (and oval) it starts out simple and gets more complex over time. But this is the 3rd more complex emblem. It really makes no sense as the serial
number is very low, and the emblem is very new. The upper joint also has the “made in france” stamp at the very top of the joint which existed in very early Noblets. Right now this is an anomoly that needs further research -I have had people email me in the past with
anomolies like this so now it is even more confusing.● The lower joint left hand spatula keys have one post as the C# & B keys share a pivot – an indicator of a very early model
● The thumbrest is a one screw on top and one on bottom model – an indicator of a very early model.
● The shared post throat keys – an indicator of a very early model
● Picture above has an adjuster, pictures below has no adjuster – shows an evolution (Picture above had the old emblem) Pictures below have the complex emblem – an indicator of a later model ??? — going to have to research eBay Noblet emblems & serial numbers in detail now.click on each picture to see a full size version
 This early Noblet has a “newer” emblem but has significant cues from an earlier model, such as : thumbrest has one screw above and below the
thumbrest, shared throat keys, Lowerjoint spatula keys share one post.
Construction is truly top notch as most posts has single and double screw mounts to the body. This post installation is excessive quality which was dropped at some point. If you compare these pictures to the very top picture there are striking differences.
The very top picture shows the shared throat keys with an adjuster. These pictures have no adjuster, plus the other differences, thus there were two versions (at least) of the shared throat key posts Noblet.
    
   If I were to guess, I would have to suspect that Noblet had a stash of early Noblet’s that they did not sell until later on. This is purely a guess but I will watch that virtual showroom, aka eBay, for Noblets to see if I can gleen more information about early Noblets. |
One thing to watch over time was the location of the pivot location of
the C#/G# key as it started below the upper key rods. Later
versions had it separate. Some model 40’s it seemed to have
varied? Noblet 45s were always separate. |
Noblet Stubbins |
The Noblet Stubbins was not a “full Stubbins” such as the Leblancs –
see Leblanc StubbinsBut it had an extra key cup on the lower joint (The Leblanc had more complex keywork on the upper joint too).
The Noblet Stubbins had a double C key cup, both on the same mechanism. On C cup was opposite the C# key cup. The 2nd C tonehole was actually quite a bit smaller than the regular toneholes.
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| Early Noblet 40 |
| Noblet buffet-like emblem
at least since 1940’s to 1962
SN# 267C (top)
Known as Model 40. Some model 40’s had ebonite bells and those ones
were later known as Model 27s after the emblem change. Some 27s
may also have had ebonite barrels. NOTE: apparently the 27s did
not have ebonite bells and had bores similar to the L27s – still
researching (1/25/2011).
As you can see there was an evolution of the emblem. The top emblem is the earliest and has a
very simple music lyre at the top. D. Noblet in the oval
The middle emblem has the D in the music lyre and Noblet in the oval.
The lowest has a more complex music lyre and D. Noblet in the emblem.
One the early 40’s the throat keys shared a post (3 total). On later models they had dedicated posts (4 total) |
 
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| Noblet Super 40 |
Noblet Super 40 – no information. But just in case you run across one at least we know the mythical beast
exists. From the oval Noblet emblem we know that it is an early model “Super” 40.I wonder if these transitioned to the 45’s very early .. a serial number analysis seems in order if we can get our hands on a few. |
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The early Super 40 had the early Noblet emblem with a ‘SUPER 40’ stamp above the emblem. Everything else was normal Noblet.
  
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The Mid era SUPER 40 had the 2nd generation Noblet emblem with the SUPER 40 below the emblem. The case had a neat emblem on it.
     
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| Noblet 40 Special |
Noblet 40 Special – This had a plastic bell. At one time I thought this transitioned to the Noblet 27 – but conflicting information as some customers have had 27s that were full wood. Thus, I now assume only the “Special”s had plastic bells.
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| Plateau 40 |
Noblet, like Normandy & Leblanc, and Selmer, etc at one time created a Plateau clarinet. This allowed young or injured infgers/hands to play the clarinet without
worry of having to cover all the toneholes.
    
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| Noblet 27 |
Noblet 27 – these supposedly had the same bore as a Leblanc L27, but of the few examples I have seen they had a cylindrical bore like all the other Noblet models. The clarinets were all wood.After going through some Model 27s I’ve found the bore to be the same as the other models, cylindrical but the differences are
the toneholes are smaller, less diameter which allows younger students to cover the toneholes easier. The 40 and 45 have larger tonehole diameters. (Sept 2011)
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| Noblet 40 – mid/later years |
| Noblet 40 Square emblem
at least since 1962 (previously thought 73) to 1990? |
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| Noblet 40 new ugly emblem
at least since 1990? to current |
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| Noblet 45 models |
| Noblet 45 – ND at the top of the Emblem
at least since 1960 to 1990
Earliest Noblet 45 serial numbers: 5512 purchase in 1948-1949
SN#46xxx & 248xx
I’m going to guess that the SUPER 40
preceeded the Noblet 45. |
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Noblet 45 – double diamond emblem.
Only an “N” inset in a small diamond at the top of the Diamond emblem1990 – 2008SN # 415A |
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The most recent Noblet 45 emblem until their Leblanc France demise in 2009 when Leblanc USA (part of
Selmer-Conn) created the Backun – Bliss lines of clarinets.I don’t know when they started using this emblem .. but just a wild guess of 2008 ?? If anyone has an idea please let me know. |
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| Noblet 45 Artist
Not sure on years but keywork is inline, sculpted like Leblanc but sheet metal trill key guide.
Noblet emblem has the double diamond, thus a newer emblem. The Artist model is physically the same as the regular 45 except it has hand selected aged wood. |
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Noblet 45 Laureate – the Noblet 45 laureate was an interesting model. It seems completely similar to the regular 45 except that it has some really nice engraving on the bell. This would have came out about the same time as the Selmer USA Soloist Omega model with
nice engraving on the bell, also the time of the Selmer Paris CT Omega which has nice engraving on the bell. Thus with the Laureate you get nice engraving!!
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Brochures, Prices and
Serial Numbers |
   Feature Comparison
Leblanc / Noblet / Normandy Catalog
Playing Characteristics
1974 Price List |
Serial Number Log
for Noblet 27, 40 and 45 |
| Year |
First Model of Year |
Last Model of Year |
| 1830 |
A beautiful example of a
Noblet Box Clarinet. |
| 1920’s – 1930’s metal |
Metal Noblet
SN73xx |
| unknown years |
4854D Noblet 40
(later known as 27) |
| 1960 |
contains 18559 |
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| 1964 |
38500 |
42999
42849 Normandy 10 |
| 1965 |
43000
53xxx N45
clarinet |
55999 |
| 1966 |
56000 |
58399 |
| 1967 |
58400 |
66999 |
| 1968 |
67000 |
78999 |
| 1969 |
79000 |
91299 |
| 1970 |
91300 |
98700 |
| 1971 |
A101
7811 Noblet 45
A415 Noblet 45 |
A12417 |
| 1972 |
A11101 |
A16000 |
| 1973 |
A16228 |
A33700 |
| 1974 |
A33701 |
A44832 |
| 1975 |
A44833 |
A57320 |
| 1976 |
A57321 |
A66597 |
| 1977 |
A66598 |
A76349 |
| 1978 |
A76350 |
A87894 |
| 1979 |
A87895 |
A96499 |
| 1980 |
A95000 |
B10309 |
| 1981 |
B10310 |
B10700 |
| 1982 |
B10701 |
B25890 |
| 1983 |
B25891 |
B28146 |
| 1984 |
B28147 |
B45800 |
| 1985 |
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| 1986 |
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| Noblet 55 / 60 Alto Clarinet |
| 1964 |
4200 |
4564 |
| 1965 |
4565 |
4799 |
| 1966 |
4800 |
5103 |
| 1967 |
5104 |
5374 |
| 1968 |
5375 |
5600 |
| 1969 |
5601 |
5733 |
| 1970 |
5734 |
5902 |
| 1971 |
5903 |
6035 |
| 1972 |
6036 |
6132 |
| 1973 |
6133 |
6228 |
| 1974 |
6229 |
6354 |
| 1975 |
6355 |
6469 |
| 1976 |
6470 |
6617 |
| 1977 |
6618 |
6693 |
| 1978 |
6694 |
6774 |
| 1979 |
6775 |
6868 |
| 1980 |
6869 |
6959 |
| 1981 |
6960 |
6965 |
| 1982 |
6966 |
7052 |
| 1983 |
7053 |
7123 |
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| Noblet 55 (60) Bass Clarinet |
| 1964 |
4700 |
5113 |
| 1965 |
5114 |
5399 |
| 1966 |
5400 |
5899 |
| 1967 |
5900 |
6487 |
| 1968 |
6488 |
7076 |
| 1969 |
7077 |
7329 |
| 1970 |
7330 |
7626 |
| 1971 |
7627 |
8034 |
| 1972 |
8035 |
8373 |
| 1973 |
8374 |
8765 |
| 1974 |
8766 |
9194 |
| 1975 |
9195 |
9683 |
| 1976 |
9684 |
9815 |
| 1977 |
9816 |
10565 |
| 1978 |
10566 |
11114 |
| 1979 |
11115 |
11421 |
| 1980 |
11422 |
12065 |
| 1981 |
12066 |
12654 |
| 1982 |
12655 |
12793 |
| 1983 |
12794 |
12972 |
| 1984 |
12973 |
13430 |
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FYI, I obtained all the Leblanc, Noblet and Normandy serial number lists
from a nice lady at G Leblanc USA about a year before they were bought by
Selmer USA. These were paper lists faxed to me. The computers
only had a few years in them by comparison. No list exists before
these lists – at least not at G Leblanc USA at the time per that nice lady.
Not sure if they exist at all now at Selmer USA since they closed the G
Leblanc facilities.
It’s curious because I had called their call center before but no one was
able to go back but just a few years. One day I called early before
the Call Center opened and this one lady took my name and fax number and
faxed the lists to me. If it wasn’t for that the lists may have been
gone forever.
