Antique Musical Instruments/Please ID a Tuba's maker

Advertisement

Expert: - 11/16/2010


Question

Stamp
Can you tell me about a company that made a tuba.
The stamp on the tuba is "Pistons K&C Francais"
Just bought it off Ebay and am curious how old it is.

Thanks a lot

Answer
Just a guess.

I suspect it is a Kohler and Chase of San Francisco horn.  They were in business from 1870 to 1900.  They were dealers rather than makers and at least some of their instrument were made by Frederick of Philadelphia (1880-1914).  He had possibly trained under Lehnert.  

Antique Musical Instruments

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

Kenton Scott

Expertise

Please note: My area is BRASS instruments, not other wind, string or percussion instruments. I will provide information on antique, obscure and out of production BRASS instruments. 1) Please don't ask for evaluations, I'll not provide them on this site. 2) I am often asked very similar questions, so I'd invite you to first check on Horn-u-Copia.net. Much of the information I have garnered about this topic, I have posted on this WEB site.

Experience

I perform in several historical bands, have informally researched the area, repair brass instruments, and operate a Forum dedicated to the topic at http://horn-u-copia.net

Education/Credentials
B.S. Ed, M.S.

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.