Expert: mike keith - 1/10/2001

Question
I found what was labeled as a Sax Horn, from the 1800's in an antique store.  It looks like a heavy weight bugle to me.  It has an engraving/stamp that says "Carl Fischers  Reliable New York."  Is this valuable?  How do I learn more about it?

Answer
Hi Sheila;

I'm not a saxhorn expert by any means (I've maybe seen one or two in person in my life, and never touched one), but I'll try to help.

The mid-to-late 19th century was a real boom time for new instruments--all sorts of wacky things were being invented at that time, including some that would make you howl with laughter, and some that seem pretty cool to this day.  One of the most prolific inventors that we remember is a guy named Adolphe Sax, a Belgian who invented the immensely successful saxophone, whose descendents we know today, played in jazz and popular --  and even some classical -- music.

Saxe also made some things that haven't fared quite as well in history, and one of those is the saxhorn, a brass instrument that came from the bugle family.

Here's an Encyclopaedia Brittanica entry about saxhorns:

http://www.britannica.com/seo/s/saxhorn/

Here's a page from the Library of Congress with  pictures of, and information about, an ensemble of  saxhorns that were recorded for a disc of Civil War music:

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cwmhtml/cwmpastinst.html

Saxhorns in some form live on in brass bands, mainly, known as "baritones" or "tenor horns," etc.  If you've ever seen the British movie "Brassed" starring Pete Postlethwaite, I believe you've seen film of the instruments (it's a sentimental and sappy movie but I liked it anyway).

Scroll down the following page a bit to see a saxhorn that appeared on the PBS show "Antiques Road Show"

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/roadshow/series/highlights/1998/pittsburgh.html

It's a bit difficult to deal with "historic instruments" because people who are into it in a hardcore manner may be talking about instruments (yes, even brass instruments) that reach back to the middle ages.  For them, a horn from 1900 might not seem quite so historic, so if you find "historic brass" in a web search it may be referring to horns that are far older than even saxhorns.

As for the Carl Fischer name, that has a bit of personal meaning for me since I live just a few blocks from what I think was the last retail outlet of Carl Fischer Co, which closed in 1999 as a store that sold sheet music, method books, and other forms of printed music.  I used to love that place.

From their own web page (they've moved to wholesaling and retailing via mail since they closed their store, and they remain an important music publisher), here is the history of Carl Fischer Music:

http://carlfischer.com/aboutcf.html

It seems that I've given you quite a bit of information, but I can't tell you if it's valuable. I can, however, give you some places you should bookmark and look around to learn more about historic brass instruments, and perhaps in your investigations you'll find someone who can help you value it.

If you live near Springfield, Mass, you may want to visit the Brass Instrument museum:

http://www.neillins.com/brass.htm

Here is a nice website by a contemporary saxhorn band:
http://members.tripod.com/Dodworth/Pages/home.htm

don't overlook their collection of links:

http://members.tripod.com/Dodworth/Pages/Favorites.htm

Finally, here are some places where you can locate musical instrument appraisers:

http://www.usd.edu/smm/FAQ.html#worth

I realize I haven't precisely answered your question, but I think if you look around you can find a lot of information quickly to sharpen your knowledge.

THanks, I enjoyed looking into saxhorns on the Web.

Take care,

Mike