Normaphone, soprano, B-flat
Date1926 ca.
Place MadeMarkneukirchen, Saxony, Germany, Europe
ModelNormaphon
Serial No.0117
SignedStamped on bell: Normaphon / D.R.G.M. (Deutsches-Reichs-Gebrauchs-Muster) / GERMANYMarkingsStamped on conical tube segment near third bow: 0117
Stamped on valve casings and caps, respectively: 10, 11, 12
DescriptionNickel-silver-plated brass, single loop imitating the shape of a saxophone, telescopic tuning slide (curved like the neck of a saxophone) at leadpipe with ligature screw, main tuning slide at narrow first bow, three Périnet valves (1, ½, 1½), bottom-sprung, alignment by one key on nickel-silver-plated brass pistons, windway 3-2-1.
Brass mouthpiece with red transparent plastic cup, stamped: CONN U.S.A. BI – 420 // CONN VISIBLE EMBOUCHURE – PAT’S APP’D FOR
In the roaring twenties, the saxophone became the ultimate jazz icon. When jazz became wildly popular in Europe in the mid-1920s, saxophones were difficult to come by, and very expensive. Therefore, trumpets in the shape of a saxophone were introduced. The Normaphon, invented by Richard Oskar Heber (1872-1938) of Markneukirchen, was named after Heber's Norma brand and protected by the German Utility Patent 51c 945 751 from February 26, 1926. Several German and US dealers offered the Normaphon in the 1920s, including C. A. Wunderlich in Markneukirchen, and M. J. Kalashen in New York. The Normaphon was built in a whole range of sizes from soprano to contrabass, the tenor in 9-foot B-flat or 8-foot C was particularly popular.
DimensionsHeight: ca. 505 mm
Tube length: 1325 mm
Bore diameter (initial, tuning slide, valve slides): 11.5 mm, 11.2 mm,
Bore doameter (telescopic tuning slide, initial, minimum): 10.8 mm, 10.4 mm
Bell diameter: 111 mm
ProvenancePurchased in 1998 from Butterfield & Butterfield Auction House, San Francisco, California.
Published ReferencesSilva, Ana Sofia. "Digging the Fifties: A Curatorial Perspective on 50 Objects from the NMM Collections." NMM Notes (October 2023): 25.
Fine Musical Instruments, Butterfield & Butterfield Auctioneers, Catalog of September 12-14, 1998, no. 4555, p. 12.
Klaus, Sabine. "NMM's 'Trumpets Weird and Wonderful' travels to Carolina Music Museum.." _National Music Museum Newsletter_ 44, no. 1 (Spring 2020): 3.
Klaus, Sabine. "Historical Instruments Window," International Trumpet Guild Journal 47 No. 3 (March 2023), p. 27.
Credit LineJoe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection, 1999
Object number07350
On View
Not on view
