Bass trombone, B-flat, F, low pitch
Date1857-1883 ca.
Place MadeNew York, United States, North America
Serial No.none
SignedEngraved on bell: Manuf. by / H. W. Moennig / New YorkDescriptionNo other trombones from the workshop of H. W. Moennig are known today, making precise dating of this instrument troublesome. No matter which portion of the firm’s operations it came from, it was built during a time when the primary need for bass trombones came from the rank of orchestral musicians. Even if it was made during the last years of Moennig’s career, it is still the earliest known B-flat/F trombone of any variety—bass, tenor or otherwise—built on American soil. It is, without further evidence, the fountainhead of the Saxon template in domestic bass-trombone development. If Moennig (and other domestic makers) were producing B-flat/F bass trombones by the late 1850s, this is possibly the type of instrument used in the bass trombone solo performances of the time, such as the U.S. premiere of David’s “Concertino” in 1862 by F. Letsch. (Byron Pillow. _The Bass Trombone in the United States and the Emergence of a Distinct, American-Style Instrument: 1755-1940._ M.M. Thesis, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, 2017, pp. 69-70.)Brass; with nickel-silver trim and garland, and chrome-plated nickel-silver inner slide. Berlin valve.
DimensionsBell diameter: 9-1/4 in (235 mm)
Primary bore: 0.535 in (13.6 mm)
Published ReferencesPillow, Byron. _The Bass Trombone in the United States and the Emergence of a Distinct, American-Style Instrument: 1755-1940._ M.M. Thesis, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, 2017, pp. 67-69; figures 18-19.
Credit LineGift of Conn-Selmer, Inc., 2008
Object number13860
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