P. S. Gilmore and that Monster Tuba

 

Since I started digging into the history of the tuba 10 years ago, I have been reminded numerous times that the work of the historian is never done. That is, I'm always making discoveries that add more to the story, which is exactly what happened this week.

In 2019, I published my research on the Harvard Tuba (click here to see the video version of my article), which was built in 1889, and I was pleased with how much of its story I was able to tell. But then I visited that historic horn at Harvard a few weeks ago, and that prompted me to poke around a bit more to see what else I could learn about its maker, F. Besson & Co. - and I struck gold!

One particularly fascinating part of the story that I was never able to get clarity on was the relationship between this beast of a bass and the renowned bandmaster, P. S. Gilmore. Here's a summary of what I knew at the time my article was published:

• The giant tuba was built by Besson for the Exposition Universelle of 1889 in Paris.
• Carl Fischer of New York, who was the sole agent in America for Besson instruments, visited the horn in Paris, and decided to purchase it and have it shipped home once the Exposition closed in November.
• That very month, Fischer wrote about the monster bass in his journal The Metronome, calling it "A novel instrument commended to P. S. Gilmore's attention."
• Then, in 1891 or 1892, a lithograph was made that shows the instrument in the back row of "Gilmore's One Hundred: The Greatest Band in the World" (shown at the top of this post).
• But I found no record of the beast appearing at a concert of Gilmore's Band. There are a few surviving photos and lithographs of the band on tour in 1892, but the giant tuba is not shown in any of them. Nor was it mentioned in connection with Gilmore anywhere in the press that I could find. And there was no record of it making an appearance at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, which was mentioned as a possibility in The Metronome in early 1890.
• But, again, it was featured prominently in that lithograph from 1891 or 1892, as you can see:

So, the nature of Gilmore's relationship with the instrument was never clear to me. But it 's a bit clearer now, thanks to having stumbled upon the "Besson Fund" archives at the website of the Philharmonie de Paris, Musee de la Musique.

In a section labeled, "Correspondence with the commercial agents of the company - 1869-1951," there are scans of a loosely bound booklet containing hand-written copies of letters Besson sent to various agents, including Carl Fischer.

Here's the cover of the booklet, noting that it had been prepared by Besson's Solicitors from the firm of "Michael Abrahams Sons & Co.":

And here's the letter, dated "30th January 1892," where I struck gold, as it relates to Gilmore and the monster tuba (the full letter, which is Besson's response to Fischer, is quite lengthy, so I've pieced together only the relevant parts here):

I'll type it out for you, so that it's easier to read (and I'll keep the spellings and punctuation as it is shown):

Monster Tuba Paris Exhibitions: You surprise us when you say "Gilmer" would buy that instrument Don't you remember we told you it was not made to play only for a trophy or show sign It can be blown but not used in an Orchestra The tubings are too narrow it is not properly a double BBb Monster but a medium between Eb & Bb double Monster If you want one for Chicago we had better make another then with all tubings in right proportion and properly tuned but do you think one would be able to get a player that would be able to give out a sufficient amount of wind to play the instrument. If Gilmer wants to buy the above sell it to him by all means and have another for Chicago which taken in proper time we could do it with care and turn out a proper article in fact without hearing further from you we shall put one in hand soon shall we make it in the new pitch We are only afraid Gilmour would afterwards find the above most satisfactory and this would perhaps make a difference between you and him.

Here are the most significant things revealed in the paragraph:

• Gilmore was apparently interested in buying the giant tuba from Fischer at that time, although we still don't know exactly why - except that, based on what Besson goes on to say, it was probably to be played in his band at some point (perhaps in Chicago?). This suggests that the lithograph was made in late 1891 or early 1892, since this letter is dated January 30, 1892.
• But Besson reminded Fischer that the monster was not designed to be played in an ensemble - it was only built for show, even though it is fully functional (which I know, since I've played it myself!). That probably explains why there is no record of it being played in Gilmore's Band. It obviously made an appearance for the photo shoot that led to the lithograph, but I can only imagine that when it was played within earshot of Gilmore, it got a big thumbs down and the sale was off!
• Besson suggests that they could build a replica for the World's Fair in Chicago that could be played in an ensemble, if that's what Fischer desired, but that doesn't seem to have happened - even though he said that they could (or should?) start working on it right away. Fischer apparently called that off.
• The last sentence is the most curious, and I'm not sure just how to read it. In what sense would a replica monster tuba "perhaps make a difference between you and him," meaning Fischer and Gilmore? Was their relationship strained for some reason? Or did Besson just mean that a replica giant tuba that plays in tune would satisfy Gilmore's high standards of musical excellence? I'm guessing it's the latter.

So there you have a bit more of the story of P. S. Gilmore and the monster tuba! I'll have to be on the lookout now for the letter from Fischer to Besson that prompted this response. As I said, the work of the historian is never done!

[Click here for my initial post on this topic, where I was trying to make sense of Gilmore's relationship to this historic horn.]