Alto saxophone, E-flat
Maker
C. G. Conn, Ltd.
Date1922 ca.
Place MadeElkhart, Indiana, United States, North America
Serial No.83522
SignedEngraved on bell: MADE BY / C. G. CONN Ltd. / ELKHART-IND.MarkingsEngraved on lower end of back side: PATD DEC. 8 1914. / 1119954 / A / 83522 / L
DescriptionTwo sections: neck and body with attached bell. Gold plated brass. Mother-of-pearl touchpieces and rollers. Split bell keys: low C# and low B keys on left side of bell, low Bb key on right side of bell. Single octave key. Bis Bb key. Side Bb key. Forked F# key. Side C key. Alternate high F key. Gold plated, slightly tilted thumbrest. Alternate G# trill key. "Mercedes-Benz-logo" shape keyguard on low C key. Drawn tone holes.
The craze for highly engraved, gold-plated, jeweled instruments made by C. G. Conn peaked during the roaring ‘20s. Popular dance band leaders such as Ted Lewis and Paul Whiteman, and Paul Biese, could be seen sporting jeweled saxophones, the latter equipping his entire band with jeweled instruments spelling out his name in sparkling “brilliants” on the side of his tenor saxs. The NMM’s gold-plated, jeweled alto saxophone, dating from about 1922, features a wreath of 28 alternating red and green glass jewels, both inside the bell and encircling the ornate engravings on the curved exterior of the bell, with a large, clear-glass jewel set at the confluence of the bell’s two central designs: the mythological Leda and the Swan and the face of an American Indian chief. Additional engravings include an American eagle and a pixie playing a bass drum. An American eagle and a pixie playing a bass drum flank the central engravings and are identical to the designs found in even greater abundance on the NMM's unique, silver-plated saxophone engraved in 1916 by Conn's master engraver, Julius Stenberg (NMM 5070).
DimensionsTotal height straight line – 625 mm (24 9/16”)
Total height curve from above from neck to bottom – 770 mm (30 ¼”)
Total height of body straight line – 547 mm (21 ½”)
Bell diameter – 121 mm (4 ¾”)
Height of bottom to bottom of bell – 257 mm (10 1/8”)
Height of bottom to top of bell – 315 mm (12 3/8”)
Length of neck straight line – 177 mm (6 15/16”)
Length of neck curve from above – 225 mm (8 13/16”)
Length of bell’s flare from inside bell – 20 mm (¾”)
Length of bell’s flare from outside bell – 14 mm (½”)
Width of bottom straight line, from key guard but not including key guard –
142 mm (5 9/16”)
Width of outside of bottom bow, from ferrule to ferrule – 251 mm (9 7/8”)
Length of jeweled leaf design inside bell – 40 mm (1 ½”)
Diameter of open figure 8 pattern of jewels on bell – 77 mm (3”)
Height of open figure 8 pattern of jewels on bell – 111 mm (4 3/8”)
Height of mouthpiece – 81 mm (3 1/8”)
Circumference of mouthpiece at widest point – 90 mm (3 ½”)
Circumference of end plug external – 85 mm (3 5/16”)
Circumference of end plug internal – 80 mm (3 1/16”)
Length of lyre curve from above – 204 mm (8”)
ProvenancePurchased from Stephen Comm, Antioch, Tennessee, 2002.
Published ReferencesBanks, Margaret Downie. "From the Museum's Treasure Chest." _National Music Museum Newsletter_ 30, No. 1 (February 2003): 3.
Credit LineBoard of Trustees, 2002
Object number10288
On View
Not on view
