Trumpet, F
Maker
Adolphe Sax
Date1869
Place MadeParis, France, Europe
Serial No.34618
SignedEngraved on bell: GRAND PRIX / 1867 / No,, 34618 / trompette à
6 pistons / et tubes Independants / Adolphe Sax Fteur Bté,, de la / Mson,, Milre,, de l’Empr,, 50, r st,, Georges à
ParisMarkingsEngraved on bell above signature: AF [monogram below crown with five pearls]
Engraved on first valve casing: No,, 34618
Stamped on valve caps and casing, respectively: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
DescriptionSilver-plated brass, partially gold-plated, triple loop, fixed leadpipe and detachable horizontal bell, tuning slide at first loop, six independent Périnet valves ascending in semitone steps (first valve shortest tubing, no valve longest tubing), valves 1–3 horizontal, valves 4–6 vertical, bottom-sprung, alignment by one key on brass pistons, valve casing with channel, no hole in bottom valve caps, windway passes through each valve twice 1-2-3-4-5-6 and returning 6-5-4-3-2-1.
The six valves of this trumpet are always used independently, never in combination. Inspired by the seven slide positions of a trombone, the first valve (like the first slide position) provides the shortest tube length and determines the nominal pitch of the instrument. The longest tubing (corresponding with the seventh position of a trombone) is gained when no valve is actuated.
The engraved monogram on the bell, AF below the five pearl crown, refers to Comte Adhémar de Foucault (1819–1891). After an active military career from 1831 until 1880, Comte Charles Jean Louis Adhémar de Foucault entertained one of the finest private brass orchestras in France at Château de la Bussière, Anjou, having a special interest in unusual instruments. All instruments from Foucault’s collection are engraved with his coat of arms and his initials. Foucault's collection was auctioned at Hôtel Drouot in Paris on November 18, 1992.
DimensionsHeight: ca. 470 mm
Tube length (lengths first to sixth valves, followed by open instrument): 1739 mm, 1848 mm, 1984 mm, 2127 mm, 2265 mm, 2405 mm, 2550 mm
Bore diameter (initial, minimum, tuning slide, valve slides): 11 mm, 10.1 mm, 11.2–11.3 mm, 11.3 mm
Bell diameter: 118 mm
ProvenancePurchased from Tony Bingham, London, 1993. Formerly owned by military engineer Comte Charles Jean Louis Adhémar de Foucault (1819–1891). Auctioned on November 18, 1992, Hôtel Drouot, Paris.
Published ReferencesSabine Katharina Klaus, Trumpets and Other High Brass: A History Inspired by the Joe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection. Volume 4: The Heydey of the Cornet (Vermillion, SD: National Music Museum, 2022), pp. 216-218, 293.
Bruno Kampmann. “L’Orchestre du Comte Ademar de Foucault,” Larigot, no. 51 (January 2013), pp. 8, 12.
Sabine K. Klaus. “Trumpet with Six Independent Valves and Tubes in F by Adolphe Sax, Paris, 1868, International Trumpet Guild Journal January 2006, p. 40.
Credit LineJoe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection, 1999
Object number07085
On View
On view
1890 ca.