Date of manufacture an old tuba.

Projects, repair topics, and Frankentubas
Post Reply
Philip Sciortino
Lurker
Posts: 10
Joined: Sun Sep 07, 2025 7:24 am
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 2 times

Date of manufacture an old tuba.

Post by Philip Sciortino »

Asking for help on finding the date of manufacture an old tuba.
I am trying to attach a few pictures that may be helpful.
We need advice about the dates of manufacture of a number of brass instruments held at a Band Club aT Zebbug Malta.
From our research some of which date back to 1870.
We also need advice on how to conserve these instruments

Thanks

Philip
Attachments
6af401f0-bd43-4847-93c5-e49a6aff1282.jpeg
6af401f0-bd43-4847-93c5-e49a6aff1282.jpeg (11.25 KiB) Viewed 3077 times
4b76c734-0657-494c-8f0c-aa7814e73f5c.jpeg
4b76c734-0657-494c-8f0c-aa7814e73f5c.jpeg (133.52 KiB) Viewed 3077 times
03eb605d-0161-4a67-8f3e-d8dcdbd49a87.jpeg
03eb605d-0161-4a67-8f3e-d8dcdbd49a87.jpeg (135.88 KiB) Viewed 3077 times
38d1ab05-7874-4dcf-850a-e1be6642e401.jpeg
38d1ab05-7874-4dcf-850a-e1be6642e401.jpeg (199.64 KiB) Viewed 3077 times
These users thanked the author Philip Sciortino for the post:
TheBerlinerTuba (Tue Sep 16, 2025 2:56 am)


Heavy_Metal
Posts: 507
Joined: Sat Aug 15, 2020 5:23 pm
Location: Baltimore, MD, USA
Has thanked: 87 times
Been thanked: 160 times

Re: Date of manufacture an old tuba.

Post by Heavy_Metal »

Go here:

https://www.horn-u-copia.net/Reference/display.php

and select "Windsor (Grey)" from the drop-down in the red panel on the left. And post some more pics!

:tuba:
Principal tuba, Bel Air Community Band
Old (early 1900s?) Alexander BBb proto-163
1976 Sonora (B&S 101) 4-rotor BBb
~1904 York 3P BBb Helicon
Old Alex Comp.F, in shop
2nd tenor
Posts: 606
Joined: Sun May 09, 2021 1:50 pm
Has thanked: 145 times
Been thanked: 198 times

Re: Date of manufacture an old tuba.

Post by 2nd tenor »

Mr Google helps again? https://www.google.com/search?q=windsor ... nt=gws-wiz

The little picture is of (I believe) Windsor Castle and the company doubtless had the instrument made by someone else and then put their own name on it. The brand disappeared during WW2, the factory being hit by a bomb and if it hadn’t have been then it would have been taken over to help with making armaments, etc. The instrument is an Eb Bass but after that and French it’s anyone’s guess.

The valve caps suggest tubular cork buffers and I think that that was the style in the early twentieth century.

The medal of honour is from 1889, there’s only a limited time that that result would have carried weight for.
Last edited by 2nd tenor on Fri Sep 19, 2025 12:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
arpthark
Posts: 5819
Joined: Mon Aug 24, 2020 4:25 pm
Has thanked: 1799 times
Been thanked: 1944 times

Re: Date of manufacture an old tuba.

Post by arpthark »

My guess is Couesnon. Scroll down to the fourth entry here. It's pretty much identical, save the ferrules (which are a bit harder to see):

https://www.horn-u-copia.net/show.php?s ... ouesnon%22

Image

It has the same Exposition Universelle de Paris engraving. My guess is 1920s or so. The one pictured above is 1922.
2nd tenor
Posts: 606
Joined: Sun May 09, 2021 1:50 pm
Has thanked: 145 times
Been thanked: 198 times

Re: Date of manufacture an old tuba.

Post by 2nd tenor »

My guess too is that it is a Couesnon, with someone else’s name on it.

There you have the date, or pretty near, it was made after 1889 and either before or just after 1900, the marking on the Bell and the two Exposition Universelle dates (there were none in-between) define that window.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expositio ... lle_(1900)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expositio ... 89)#Legacy
Post Reply