In the early 1920s, Conn made saxophone pads with a lead foil interior backing to the pad skin. Some of them were marked “Conn-Foil” on the pad, some were not. Some were white with or without a center stitch (no resonator), some were tan with no stitch and no resonator. When handling an original pads Conn saxophone from that era, it is a good idea to handle it carefully until you know for sure- that lead foil has often oxidized and turned to dust, and the pads themselves are often dry rotted. I wear a mask and handle them with gloves whenever I come across them, and continue to wear the mask and gloves until the pads are removed and safely disposed of and the saxophone has been thoroughly cleaned.
