More on an early Conn Sousaphone

The earliest Conn Sousaphone that we know for sure has survived the ravages of time is the one currently displayed at the Iowa Band Museum (see this post). It was built in 1899, and delivered to the A.O.U.W. Band of Cedar Falls, Iowa, on June 8 of that year, according to the Waterloo Daily Courier:

After playing around with it for a few weeks, they decided it was a keeper, as the newspaper reported:

While the valve cluster seems to be unique to this horn (again, see this post), I have to assume that the other specs are probably close to those of Conn's first Sousaphone, built just over a year earlier. Both had four valves, with the Iowa horn weighing between 32-37 pounds and with a the bell measuring 24-26 inches in diameter (curiously, the two accounts above don't agree on these details!).

Here's the earliest known photograph of that vintage Sousaphone:

Almost 10 years later, the Sousaphone was still going strong, as can be seen in this colorized photo of the band, supposedly from 1908 (back row, left of center):

In 1914, the band was under the direction of F. L. McCreary (and that may be him in 1908 as well), and the Cedar Falls Daily Record of December 3 that year produced a brief report on the band, which also said a few words about their prized possession, that early Conn Sousaphone.

The specs on the horn listed here are probably incorrect (or, at least, they are significantly different from what the earlier reports said), and, unless this is an entirely different Sousaphone, it was not "bought from Sousa," nor would it likely have cost $500, as the earliest Conn Sousaphones were apparently selling for around $250. But it's fun to read about this great old horn!

Gilmore and the giant Harvard tuba

One of the more fascinating things I have come across in my research on Herman Conrad is the following poster of Gilmore's Band - presumably based on a photograph (yet to be found) and created prior to Gilmore's death in 1892, when he launched his tour of "One Hundred":

Based on earlier images of the band, Conrad is most likely holding one of those large-belled helicon basses, either five guys in from the right in the back row, or six guys in from the right two rows below that. 

But what are we to make of that huge tuba toward the middle of the back row? Here's a close-up look at it:

Apart from the engraving on the bell, it is a dead-ringer for the giant tuba that is kept in the band room at Harvard University (being held here by my friends Matt Walters and Steve Dillon):

Here's a closer look at the bell engravings that can be seen today:

It says, "Besson & Co. London England Carl Fischer U. S. Agent. New York." The artist's rendering in the poster shows a giant "BESSON" (or rather "?SSON"), which perhaps was, or maybe even still faintly is, there on the upper part of the bell (I haven't seen the horn myself - yet!).

But, again, everything else matches perfectly, so it seems likely that it is the very same horn - and that's what my research has affirmed. In the March 24, 1929 edition of The Boston Globe, there is the following headline and photo:

The article that follows provides us with the earliest known account of the story behind this giant tuba:

Just how much of this story is true? It's hard to say. But the connection with Gilmore checks out. And the timing is right, as Gilmore had plans to take his band of one hundred to the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 (although his death on Sept. 24, 1892, obviously changed those plans, and I have found no record of that giant tuba appearing at the World's Fair the following year; it may very well have found its way back to that "store window in New York" following the great bandmaster's death).

Further, the folks at Carl Fischer Music recently posted an old photo, said to be from around 1920, showing that horn in front of their main Boston store. It had apparently made the trip from New York by that time:

Finally, I found a photo published in various newspapers in late Spring, 1928, which appears to be showing us that "farewell appearance" in Boston a month or so earlier, where the horn was "Perched in solitary splendor on a five-ton truck":

But how did this giant tuba end up at Harvard? The earliest reference that I could find that connects it to the university is from late December, 1948, and that appears to be the very year that it fell into the Band's hands. 

In the 1972 Harvard Bulletin, Christopher Johnson wrote that "It is a documented fact that the Band acquired the instrument from Carl Fischer, Boston, on August 24, 1948, for the sum of $100. Fischer's, it appears, was under the impression that the Band was merely renting; but the clerk had scrawled 'sale' on the slip, and the horn was Harvard's."

That report also mentions the legend that the horn was initially connected with Sousa's Band, which is repeated elsewhere, such as the wikipedia page for "Subcontrabass tuba," which states that it was "built by Besson on the suggestion of American Bandmaster John Philip Sousa, who toured using [it] in his band from 1896-1898." But there is simply no documentation for this claim, and it is almost certainly false.

In 1973, a humorous photo of the giant Harvard tuba, which is very similar to the photo above, featuring the three ladies in 1929, was sent out via UPI to newspapers around the country. Here it is:

This photo also showed up in the Fall 1988 edition of the T.U.B.A. Journal, with the following caption that tells a bit more than the newspapers did:

A dramatization of The Tuba's relative size - oboist Laura Carr became the first human straight mute in 1979 [actually 1973]. Band equipment handler Samuel Shaw (left) and Band Director Tom Everett are holding The Tuba. The drama became real just after this photograph was taken. Ms. Carr, hysterical with laughter, became stuck and had to be extacted [sic] with the assistance of two security guards.

That journal article also shows Sam Pilafian playing the giant horn in 1979 - something that he did numerous times, I'm told.

I hope to be speaking with Sam soon to hear more about this beast of a tuba that goes all the way back to Gilmore's Band in 1892. Stay tuned!

For more on this giant tuba, click here.

Merry TubaChristmas, 2018!

We had a great showing for the Lansdale, PA TubaChristmas a few weeks back - about 75 horns in all. The weather brought us inside, to St. John's, but we packed the house! Here are a few photos from where I sat on the stage . . .

Waving our tubas to a grateful audience!

The gallery behind me, and to the left, where the Sousaphones tend to gather!

My view, from above the organ console

Most of us could see the conductor, if we looked real hard!

New home for the first Sousaphone

The great folks at the J. W. Pepper company, in Exton, PA, have finally built a new home for the original Sousaphone. I had a chance to swing by yesterday to check it out. The new case looks great! Merry Christmas, everyone!

Now we know - Gilmore likes Sousa

Nice to see these guys connecting on facebook!

I have to say, I do miss those days!

I woke up this morning to discover that my beloved Trojans, who looked like they were on their way to another ugly loss by the time I went to sleep (about 12:30am - nobody likes the "Pac 12 After Dark" when you live on the east coast!), came roaring back in the second half to pull out a win.

Here's how the tuba section parties in the middle of the Coliseum after a great game like that. Ah yes, I remember those days when I writhed on that sacred turf playing "Animal House"!

Sousa would NOT have been a fan!

More tuba! says the little drum major

An ad is making the rounds lately that gives the Sousaphone some love (albeit in its fiberglass form). "More tuba!" is the punch-line. I love it!

It's Penn State Blue Band time again!

I just watched Penn State crush Kent State, 63-10, and it reminded me that I hadn't posted any photos of my son yet this year. Here he is before the game against Appalachian State a few weeks ago, and during the rainy game against Pitt last week. The Nittany Lions are 3-0 baby!

Tea for tuba - my favorite tea pot!

We were out for a special tea experience with my family recently, and it turns out they had a tea pot that got me really excited! The only thing that could have made it better, or course, is if that bass horn was a Sousaphone!

Finally met Lloyd Farrar in person

I mentioned in a post back in 2015 that music scholar Lloyd Farrar had been connected with the J. W. Pepper company in the early 1990s and had begun the process of clarifying the history of the first Sousaphone (click here to see that post). He wasn't able to get to the bottom of the story, but he definitely got the ball rolling.

After reading about him in the archives at Pepper, and hearing about him from the folks there, I was able to track him down and connect with him over many phone conversations over the past number of years. He has taken great interest in my work, and has been cheering me on in it - both as it relates to Sousaphone history, and even more so in discovering the story of Herman Conrad.

Well, I was finally able to meet Lloyd in person the other day, as he was at the AMIS conference that was being hosted about an hour from my home. His passion for music history is as strong as ever!

Sousa's Band (and us!) at Longwood

My wife and I become members of Longwood Gardens this year, enabling us to enjoy its vast beauty throughout the next 12 months. Here is Kim, along with my son and mother-in-law, down toward the Italian gardens this past week:

What was fun to discover is that there is a bit of history for Sousa and his Band at this wonderful place. While it was long after Herman Conrad, Sousa's first star bass player, had left the band, I thought I'd post about it anyway. Here's the brief mention of the Sousa connection in the museum on the grounds:

And here are a few more shots of the grounds, as they looked this past week:

(That's me on the left)