Euphonium in saxophone shape, B-flat, high pitch
Date1910 ca.
Place MadeEngland, Europe
ModelEnharmonic patent valves, similar to Besson & Co., London
Serial No.none
SignednoneMarkingsnone
DescriptionBrass, double loop in saxophone shape, no tuning or valve slides, four Périnet valves (1, ½, 1½, 3½), bottom-sprung, alignment by one key on brass pistons, first, second and fourth valve with two valve loops of different lengths, third valve without valve loop, circuit between first and third valve, windway 3-2-1-3-4 or 4-1-2-3-4 (third valve used).
This instrument has a four-valve compensating system that is similar to Besson’s “enharmonic patent.” Four-valve compensation systems eventually go back to principles laid out for three-valve cornets by David James Blaikley. These principles are based on an automatic introduction of additional tubing for the first and second valves as soon as the third valve is depressed; the fingering remains normal. In this particular instrument additional tubing is also engaged when the fourth valve is used in combination with the third valve.
The present instrument seems to have been made by an amateur or as an experiment, based on the lack of slides and engraved lines, unusual manufacturing methods, such as putting together brass patches, and crudely made pistons. It seems that the instrument was based on a professional euphonium with compensating system, while the body shape was varied to imitate a saxophone.
DimensionsHeight: 675 mm
Tube length: 2629 mm
Bore diameter (initial, minimum): 13.1 mm, 11.5 mm
Bell diameter: 226 mm
ProvenancePurchased in 1997 from Steve Dillon, Woodbridge, New Jersey.
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. 213, 294.
"Utley Collection on the Move." _National Music Museum Newsletter_ 44, no. 2 (Summer 2020): 2.
Credit LineJoe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection, 1999
Object number07255
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