The World's Largest Tuba? Nope!

Over the years, the status of "World's Largest Tuba" has been claimed for many monster basses, including in this recent Fodor's article:

The enticing opening paragraph reads as follows:

And number one on their list is a truly great tuba - however it is not really a tuba, but just looks like one (the valves are dummies, so it is just a giant bugle), nor, as it turns out, is it what the heading claims:

Yes, it is known as "Big Carl," because it has resided with Carl Fischer in New York City since it was shipped to that company by Bohland & Fuchs in 1912. And it spent much of its life lurking over passer-bys in the street-level windows of Carl Fischer's store on Cooper Square. Here's one example from way back in 1921, where the claim of being "The World's Largest Bass Horn" was already being touted:

This towering tuba remains in the hands of Carl Fischer Music, residing currently in the administrative offices of the company in the Wall Street area. The Foder's article provides a link to this brief video, featuring Carol Jantsch, tubist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, playing a few notes on this colossal creation:

But my current research has proven that "Big Carl" is roughly three feet shorter than what is truly "The World's Largest Tuba," a massive 52-ft Eb Saxhorn bourdon built by Adolphe Sax around 1851. Sadly, that monster is long since lost, but this one photo of it remains, from around 1878:

This, my friends, is our winner - with all due respect to "Big Carl"! (Click here for a brief description of all known subcontrabass tubas, ranked by size, as well as photos of most of them).