Antique Musical Instruments/Henry Pourcelle Sousaphone

Advertisement

Expert: - 8/28/2010


Question
My grandparents just came back from their friends who live in New York State's house with a bunch of old musical instruments, one of them is a sousaphone.  It has three valves, and the bell points to the left when it is worn.  I couldn't locate a serial number, however on the bell is imprinted "Henry Pourcelle Paris."  The fundamental pitch is a B flat.  Any information you have about this instrument would be appreciated, though I am most interested in it's era.

Answer
Pourcelle was a tradename used by the Bruno Company. of New York.  They were established in 1834 In 1868, the Company used C. Bruno and Son as its name.

After the turn of the 20th Century, the company began using trade names including: Lafayette, Paris; Perfacktone; Perfection; Henry Pourcelle, Paris; La Vesta; Vocotone.  

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.