louis armstrong's trumpet mouthpieces

[halfnote]

I've seen photos of some of Louis Armstrong's mouthpieces & they seem to have some very odd qualities.
The flat surface that would come directly in contact with the lips are carved with some very deep slots.
The appearance is that they would be extremely abrasive & uncomfortable.
Does anyone have any idea what the purpose of these would have been ?

[sunburstbasser]

Can you post a photo? I can't find one of the inside of his mouthpiece.

[catalinagoose]

Here is a photo. This was a non-removeable mouthpiece on his cornet. The marks on the rim were to "aid his embochure" somehow. He cut the marks himself.

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m268/catalinagoose/mouthpiece.gif

[y-o-y]

I remember my first trumpet teacher telling me about this when he was corrrecting my weak embochure. essentially, his upper lip is not curled in, but rather he played with the MP against the soft fleshy part of his lip (i did the same thing before i corrected my embocure). i believe the grooves were there to create more 'grip' and reduce the need to apply pressure against the lips. i'm not sure, but this may have contributed to his somewhat characteristic unfocused/splatty tone.

[thenagus]

As far as I can tell, it was only on his first battered cornet that he cut grooves in the mouthpiece? I think perhaps by the time he could get his hands on a proper trumpet, he didn't need to notches to improve his embochure.