Tenor trombone, B-flat, low pitch
Alternate name(s)
- Presentation trombone
Maker
C. G. Conn
Maker
Jake Burkle
Date1897 ca.
Place MadeElkhart, Indiana, United States, North America
ModelBody: Artist model, 6" bell
Slide: 2H SPEC [special]
Serial No.See notes regarding replacement slide
Slide: 294847
SignedMADE BY / C. G. CONN / ELKHART IND. / NEW YORKMarkingsEngraved around exterior garland at bell rim: Made for Arthur Pryor by Jake Burkle 1894
DescriptionArthur Pryor (1869-1942) was a trombone virtuoso who was responsible for changing the way the trombone was played and how music was written for it, worldwide, ca. 1892-1942. At age 23, Pryor became the trombone soloist with Sousa's Band (1892-1903) and was its assistant conductor from 1895-1903. In 1903, he took over conducting his father's band, which bore the family name, a position he held up to his death in 1942, although he had retired from full-time conducting in 1933. Pryor wrote about 300 pieces of music and arranged hundreds more for band. Around 1909, he was also the conductor and arranger for the Victor Talking Machine Co. Pryor was the most recorded trombonist in history, having recorded at least 225 trombone solos. The Pryor Band was the most recorded concert band in history, having made more than 3,200 recordings. According to Steve Dillon (Woodbridge, NJ), Pryor scholar, "Pryor was there for the first recordings, he was there when radio was first broadcast, he played before Kings and Tsars, he played before Presidents, and he composed Ragtime and taught it to the Sousa Band. He was a household name in the early 1900s; unfortunately, as fame is fleeting, his name has passed into the dust, remembered by only the few."
Arthur Pryor played and kept this Conn trombone throughout his entire lifetime, only having the slide replaced by Conn's foremost trombone maker/designer, Jake Burkle, who worked for Conn from 1876-1943, and made the original instrument for Pryor ca. 1897. There is a discrepancy in the dating of this trombone, however, since the original slide is absent. The date, 1894, inscribed on the bell rim doesn't jive with the manufacturer's signature, which includes both Elkhart and New York in its text. Conn did not open his New York store until late in 1897. One speculation is that this trombone may have been made for Pryor's use with Sousa's Band: New York may have been included in the signature since NY was Sousa's headquarters (but there are no other Sousa band instruments bearing similar inscriptions, to the best of our knowledge). Or, the engraving on the bell rim may have been done at the same time that Burkle oversaw the overhaul of the trombone and manufacture of its replacement slide--ca. 1934.
The trombone is entirely gold-plated and is intricately and ornately engraved by James Gardner, Conn's first master engraver. Although not signed by him, Gardner's signature rose engraving appears below the manufacturer's name and can be found elsewhere on the bell as well.
DimensionsBell diameter: 6"
ProvenanceOriginally made for trombonist, Arthur Pryor (1869-1942), who kept it throughout his life. It was passed down to his son, Roger (1901-1974), who sold it to an unidentified person in Indiana, from whom it was purchased by Steve Dillon, Woodbridge, NJ, about 1992.
Lynn and Steve Dillon Collection, 2021.
Published ReferencesNMM catalog: _As Good as Gold: The First 50 Years (1973-2023)_. Vermillion, SD: National Music Museum, 2023. (pp. 79, 86-87)
Credit LineLynn and Steve Dillon Collection, 2021
Object number15084
On View
Not on view
