Expert: Kenton Scott - 4/13/2008

Question
My dad gave me a trombone that his dad used in WW1. He engraved on the trombone where he was at during the war. Scotland, France, England 1918 and Belgium 1919. The trombone has "The Wurlitzer American, made by Rodolph Wurlitzer Co., Chicago Cincinnati". Could you please tell me more about this trombone, the year that it would have be made etc. Thank you

Answer
The musical tradition of the Wurlitzer family can be traced back to the 17th century.

The forefathers of Rudolph  Wurlitzer, who emigrated to  America in 1853 at the age of 24, had already made a  name for themselves in Saxony  
as manufacturers of and dealers  in musical instruments.  

Rudolph Wurlitzer founded  THE WURLITZER COMPANY  in 1856. At first he imported  musical instruments and  opened sales outlets in all big  
American cities. He started  production of pianos in America  
in 1880.

The original Wurlitzer Lyric trombones were produced before 1906 and read Made by Rudolph Wurlitzer on the bell. Starting in 1906 they read Lyric, Wurlitzer and were made by Conn.

We can speculate that that applies to the American model as well.