A little Sousaphone humor

No mention of Pepper's horn in 1898

Building on the post below, it is further curious that in Pepper's Musical Times and Band Journal dated May 1898 (vol. xv, no. 174), the following appears:

(Image courtesy of the Museum of Making Music and the J. W. Pepper Co.)

There are a few significant points we can make from this promotional piece from Pepper:

• The image of Sousa is the very one used for the engraving on the first Sousaphone, showing the bandmaster in his uniform from 1894 or 1895. Once again, this reminds us that the first Sousaphone was most likely built during or after those years.
• The same "ho-hum" endorsement of Pepper instruments from Sousa that was first published in 1896 (see post below) is now typed out for all to read clearly (couldn't they get a better quote from him?!).
• The "prominent members of Sousa's Band who use and endorse" Pepper instruments include two BBb Bass players - Herman Conrad and Fred Walen. But in the 1896 Journal, Conrad is specifically identified as playing the Sousaphone. Why is he not so identified here? Unless, of course, he was no longer playing that Sousaphone, but had reverted back to a regular BBb Bass. This suggests that, by this time, Pepper's Sousaphone had, for some reason, fallen out of favor with Sousa, or with Conrad, or perhaps with both. And it is at this point in history that Conn enters the picture of Sousaphone history (lots more to come on that!).
• Well, actually there is one more possibility to consider regarding the previous point. Perhaps Conrad is not mentioned as playing the Sousaphone at this time simply because that instrument was not in production, and so there would have been no point in drawing attention to a horn that no one could buy for themselves.

Not exactly a ringing endorsement!

In trying to determine why the first Sousaphone seems to dissappear shortly after it was built (sometime between 1894-96, by my estimation), here is one distinct possibility: Sousa was not a fan.

In the middle of the front page of Pepper's Musical Times and Band Journal from early 1896, where many of Sousa's band members praise their Pepper instruments, notice what Sousa himself says:

In case you can't read it, it says "All of the Pepper instruments in use in my Band are thoroughly satisfactory." I wouldn't exactly call that a ringing endorsement!

Could it be that the Pepper Sousaphone simply didn't live up to Sousa's standards of quality? It is curious that the first time we see a Sousaphone in the band (in my search of photos so far) is in 1898, and it turns out to be Conn's first model.

Of course, there may be more going on there, as well. In that very year, 1898, Conn outfitted Sousa's entire Band with his instruments - and Sousa raved about them from that point on. Pepper instruments, and the first Sousaphone in particular, quickly faded away.

Pepper Sousaphone - 30 years later

I've been curious to know whether J. W. Pepper ever made another Sousaphone after building the prototype seen in the posts below. So far, I have found no evidence of that particular horn going into production, or even being made a second time. The reason may perhaps be the financial difficulties that faced the company in the 1890s (Paul Bierley mentions this in his outstanding work, The Incredible Band of John Philip Sousa, p. 56).

But it appears that Pepper did end up making other Sousaphones - at least eventually. Notice this page from the J. W. Pepper publication Everything Musical from the 1920s, courtesy of Mark Overton at saxophone.org:

You'll notice that at the top of the article, it says "The first 'Sousaphone' was named and built by J. W. Pepper over thirty years ago for Sousa's Band." This puts the publication at around 1925 - at which time the company was advertising the bell-front Sousaphone depicted here (for a mere $174.50!).

Pepper finally boasts - but when?

The word "Sousaphone" shows up in a big way in this advertisement that I'm told was inserted as a loose page in an issue of Pepper's Musical Times and Band Journal - perhaps the one noted in the post below (early 1896), but it could have been a bit earlier, or a bit later (the folks at Pepper today thought it was 1893; my guess is that it was either in 1896 or a bit later, given that Herman Conrad's endorsement in the 1896 Journal doesn't yet specifically speak of the Sousaphone, like it does in the advertisement below):

(Image courtesy of the Museum of Making Music and the J. W. Pepper Co.)

Since it's very hard to read what it says at the bottom of this document, I'll provide it here:

THE SOUSAPHONE. MADE BY J. W. PEPPER.

This instrument was made from the plans and under the direction of the famous bandmaster, John Philip Sousa. It is an original idea of his, and he considers it the best method and only correct way of obtaining the full tonal quality of the Helicon BBb Bass in band. We feel proud of the honor that Mr. Sousa has conferred in selecting us, from among the large American band instrument manufacturers, to receive the order for making this special instrument: thus showing his confidence in our ability to successfully make a perfect Sousaphone. The instrument is played by Mr. Herman Conrad, the first BBb Bass of Mr. Sousa's band. The other larger instruments used in this band were also made by Mr. Pepper. The Sousaphone is a Helicon BBb Bass of the largest size made.

And at the very bottom of the page is the following:

MR. HERMAN CONRAD'S TESTIMONIAL.

Mr. J. W. Pepper:
Dear Sir - the Sousaphone is admired everywhere and gains in reputation daily. It is in splendid tune and tone and has a wonderful carrying power. It proves an irresistible attraction.

Yours very truly, Herman Conrad

The insert does say, in the upper right corner, that this Sousaphone was  "used daily in Sousa's peerless concert band." And Conrad, in his testimonial at the bottom, adds that it was "admired everywhere and gains in reputation daily." It sure sounds like the horn was active in Sousa's Band, perhaps for some time. So why don't we hear about it anywhere else during this time period? I have not yet been able to locate any other reference to this  "irresistible attraction." Strange.

Further, I have not been able to locate any photos of Sousa's Band from 1894 through 1897 to confirm that this horn was played in it for all or part of that time. The earliest photo that I have found that shows a Sousaphone in use is from 1898, and it reveals an entirely different Sousaphone - one presumably made by Conn. And the buzz around that horn makes it seem as if it was the first to appear (more on that shortly). Again, strange. Why did Pepper's Sousaphone essentially dissappear?

[UPDATE on this important page from 2015]

Clues from a Pepper journal in 1896

Here's the front page of J. W. Pepper's Musical Times and Band Journal, vol. xiv, no. 159, which appears to have been published in early 1896 (the only date seen on this image is the oval stamp between the two guys in the upper right, which says "Library of Congress copyright April 29 1896"):

Image courtesy of George B. Class at J. W. Pepper

A close up of the face and caption in the upper left corner suggests that the Sousaphone made by Pepper existed by this time, and was being played in Sousa's Band:

Combined with what we concluded a few posts below, we now can narrow the date that the first Sousaphone was built to no earlier than 1894 and no later than early 1896.

Who knew the Sousaphone in 1892?

The October 24, 1925 edition of Presto speaks of Sousa and his band "in those exciting days of the World's Columbian Exposition of 1892 in Chicago. . . . Who in that time . . . knew the sousaphone? That was the March-King's own device for obtaining a distinctive sound; and today the sousaphone is part of every big band, of many small ones, and has a place in the great modern orchestras" (p. 20).

Photo courtesy of Paul Bierley, John Philip Sousa: American Phenomenon, p. 60

Above is the Sousa Band in 1893 - which does not yet have a Sousaphone. What you see in the top right is Herman Conrad playing a Helicon bass - the forerunner to the Sousaphone.



Clues from Sousa's uniform

In trying to determine the year that the first Sousaphone was made, the engraving of Sousa on the bell offers some important evidence:

 

It turns out that this engraving is based on a photo (or is it a drawing?) that shows up on this poster for the 1895 season - however the photo negative was loaded backwards (note the "S"s on Sousa's collar):





So here is that photo flipped and enlarged, and - voila! - it matches the engraving on the bell (note in particular the embroidery on the jacket):

Now, when was this photo taken? We can't say for sure, but based on extant photos of Sousa from 1892 and 1893 (see below), it would seem that this particular uniform was new either in 1894 or 1895. And, of course, the Sousaphone had to be made after the photo was taken, eliminating 1893 as an option (well, unless the horn originally didn't have an engraving on the bell, but it was added a year or more later).

September 1892

 

1893 (month not specified)

 

June 1893

When was this horn actually built?

All of the evidence points to the Sousaphone made by J. W. Pepper, serial number 8800, and shown a few posts below, as the very first one. Sousa gave Pepper the idea for the horn back in 1892, but what year was it actually built?

Having examined the horn close up, it seems that the answer is provided right there on the bell - 1893:

However, many Pepper instruments have this, or something like this, on their bells (see this website for a detailed list). For example, here is a tuba, serial number 9293:

And here's a trombone, serial number 11054 - although now it clarifies that it is referring to receiving some sort of award at the "World's Fair Columbian Exposition Chicago 1893":

Same goes for this cornet, serial number 11158 - quite a ways from 8800, meaning it may very well have been built later than 1893:

It would seem that this information on the bell of these instruments is not providing the date of construction, but only boasting of the award received at the World's Fair in 1893.

Photo courtesy of Paul Bierley, The Incredible Band of John Philip Sousa, p. 18

Sousa's Band performed at the Fair, both at the dedication of the buildings in October 1892 (shown above), and for parts of May and June 1893, but did they feature the first Sousaphone in the band that latter year? We simply don't know - yet.

What we do know is that in 1893, Pepper received a World's Fair award for band instruments (noted in the September 30, 1893 edition of The Music Trade Review - vol.18, no. 10, p. 1). And this fact was stamped on the bells of many of their instruments from that point on.

So was the first Sousaphone built in 1893? Possibly, but we'll have to look elsewhere to find a certain answer.

Don't try to order this at IHOP

It looks more like a tuba than a Sousaphone, but my Mom, who is famous for her custom pancakes, was taking requests from my kids (her grandkids) the other day, and then asked what I wanted. Being immersed in Sousaphone history this summer, my request made perfect sense. Here's what she came up with. Pass the syrup, please!

The very first Sousaphone - up close

Right before our family left for vacation in southern California four weeks ago, I learned that the very first Sousaphone, made by J. W. Pepper in 1893 (or perhaps a few years later), is currently on loan to the Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, CA (great museum, by the way).

That was just 45 minutes south of where we were staying in Laguna Beach, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see that horn for myself. Actually, I took my Dad along with me, as he played Souspahone in his high school band back in the 1940s. Here's what we saw:

The engraving suggests that the horn was built in 1893, but I'm not so sure. The idea for the horn was given to Pepper by Sousa in 1892, but, as far as I can tell, Pepper didn't publicize the new instrument until a number of years later (more on that shortly). And the engraving of Sousa on the bell, seen below, shows him in the uniform for the 1895 season (more on that shortly as well).

Just below the engraving of Sousa himself is a ribbon that contains the two words "SOUSA" and "PHONE" - just not together as one word. Is it possible that this is the earliest use of this term? Here's the first word, with the second just beginning to start on the lower part of the ribbon:

Other parts of the horn feature beautifully stamped brass, as shown in the two photos below:

Again, you can currently see this historic instrument for yourself at the Museum of Making Music (in the NAMM building) in Carlsbad, CA. It's a great little museum!

More Sousa on the Sousaphone

A few years after making his quote about the origin of the Sousaphone in the Christian Science Monitor (see post below), Sousa wrote this in his autobiography, published in 1928:

I strove in every way to improve the quality and variety of the instruments. Way back when I was with the Marines they used a Helicon tuba wound around the body. I disliked it for concert work because the tone would shoot ahead and be too violent. I suggested to a manufacturer that we have an upright bell of large size so that the sound would diffuse over the entire band like the frosting on a cake! He designed a horn after that description and it has been in use ever since, by many bands, under the name of the Sousaphone (p. 334).