Bersag Horn, B-flat
Distributor
Rinaldi & C.
Date1900 ca.
Place DistributedFlorence, Italy, Europe
ModelModel no. 1884
Serial No.219
SignedStamped on bell: [stylized five-petal flower] / MOD O 1884 / RINALDI E CI. / FIRENZE / [stylized five-petal flower] / 37MarkingsStamped on second valve casing: 219
Engraved in a dilettantish way on side of bell: Erbeutet in Son Pauses / am 25. VI. 1915. ("Captured in Son Pauses on June 25, 1915")
DescriptionBrass, double loop, main tuning slide at second bow, one Périnet valve, lowering the pitch from B-flat to F, bottom-sprung.
Brass mouthpiece, unmarked.
The tromba alla bersagliera, invented by Guiseppe Clemente Pelitti (1837-1905) shortly before 1870 for snipers (bersagliere = sniper) in the military, was built in families from soprano in B-flat to bass in F. Forerunners were in use in Italian military bands since the early 1860s. Characteristically, the conical instrument with little bell flare has a single piston valve, perpendicular to the bell, that lowers the pitch by a fourth. The Bersag horn, also built by other firms, enjoyed great success during World War I for its quality of attack and ease of response, particularly in Italian troops. This particular instrument was captured by an Austrian or German soldier at the Southwestern front line of World War I in the Dolomites at the battle of Son Pauses on June 25, 1915. Rinaldi & Co. was likely a dealer.
DimensionsHeight: 338 mm
Tube length: 1333 mm
Bore diameter (initial, minimum, tuning slide, valve slides): 11.8 mm, 11.4 mm, 11.3-12.9 mm, 11.4 mm
Bell diameter: 98 mm
ProvenancePurchased in 1996 from Mr. Lindemann, Zürich, Switzerland.
Credit LineJoe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection, 1999
Object number07134
On View
On view
1940 ca.
1917-1919 ca.
