"...made mostly in America..."

Sort of. I had piano lessons through most of elementary school, which I neither liked nor excelled at. When I got to Jr. Hi, I wanted to be in the band, partly because it seemed like fun and partly because I thought it might get me out of piano lessons. My cousin had played the cornet for a year or two before quitting, and my mom gave her sis $20 for the old cornet. I already knew how to read music, so I got out the fingering chart and figured it out by myself. After a couple of years in band, I convinced mom to buy me lessons first from a local symphony player and later from another guy that played in a jazz club and the pit orchestra for the local ballet company, among other gigs. ...but playing the trumpet never got me out of piano lessons.

I'm glad it worked for you, Butch.

Packing up so I can hit the road at 5:45 am to get to the airport to fly home with a carry-on dog. What could be better than that?

Yeah, but the kid in question is 8 years old. So the smaller size might work for him, for now. 1C, maybe later.

10.5C Readily available, cheap, used. Worth a try. I never liked the 7C, even when I was a beginner, due to the shape of the rim. (Very sharp inner lip and heavily rounded outer lip.) I don't know who ever came up with that concept or why. But, for me, it was terrible for endurance. The 10.5C is slightly smaller, but with a fairly flat rim that is much more comfortable. IMO.

Barliman:

Have you ever played an Eterna picc? I had one and, even for a mostly recreational player like me, it just wasn't very good. Also, USD 1,500 is a lot to pay for one. I sold mine for about $950 as I recall (in very good condition). And that was more than I paid for it. I haven't been able to try one of Trent's "doubler" horns, but it is entirely possible they are better than the Eterna picc.