Ultra Rare ACME SIREN HORN 450 W. CUSTOM GUCCI Leather Cover- Acme Whistle Horn

Description

The Acme Siren Whistle with Bell Horn and Custom GUCCI leather bell mute- Unique. Condition is "Used". Shipped with USPS Priority Mail.
What makes this item ultra rare?
This siren is a model that has not been manufactured since the 1960’s . It is far smaller than the current siren horn(Model 451)This is model no 450. It was introduced in the late 1950’s . Acme Whistle shared that cannot be more accurate than to say it is about 70 years old.
It is rare even without the leather covering.
The inside of the horn has been black japanned . That is a way of sealing the inside in an attractive finish that looks glazed. Today, Acme Whitle Company uses a paint , but this siren was lacquered and gave a much better finish. Acme stopped using this process around 1980.
Acme has never had their products leather covered, although they have , over the years, had customers who do cover our horns in leather. G. Ettinger of London , a maker of high end leather products , used a company based in Cornwall, England to cover our horns and whistles. Some of these were sold into the USA through a company in Kenosha , Illinois, called Baekgaard who no longer exist.
We do not know who covered this horn and had it stamped Gucci.
It was usual for this item to have a leather carrying strap, but this one is missing a strap.
Very few were ever made of this model,could be less that 100 worldwide. They were too expensive to be a popular consumer item.
Condition:
Vintage “The Acme Siren” with attached bell. The bell has been modified with an added hand stitched brown leather cover/mute/dampener. The leather is in great condition. At the base of the mouth piece where the leather starts, “GUCCI MADE IN ITALY” is stamped in gold lettering There is a small 1/2cm scratch on the leather. The condition of the nickel plated bell underneath is unknown as the leather is stitched and fitting and can’t be removed but can be rotated about horn to recenter stitching with strap loop. Leather strap missing from item. Leather doesn’t extend all the way to the bell’s lipped rim due to age.
The mouth piece is nickel plated and is screwed in place to the bell with its treaded connecting ends. The engraved lettering on the mouth piece is upside down with you stand the siren upright with the horn opening facedown. It reads “THE ACME SIREN MADE IN ENGLAND”
This siren stands at 7-1/4” tall. It is in excellent condition and rare due to scarcity and designer modification.
Provenance unknown.