This Tuba Tuesday the Museum showcase’s a recent acquisition: an R. A. Kaempf, four rotary valve, CC tuba, circa 1900, shown below. The height is 39 inches; the bell diameter is 15 inches and the valve bore is .710 inch or 18 millimeters.
Reinhard A. Kaempf was born in Germany in 1848. He emigrated to New York in 1871 and by 1873 was producing brass instruments in New York City under the name R. A. Kaempf. He continued to make instruments until his death in 1904. By then, his son Albert was working with him and the company name had been changed to R. A. Kaempf & Son. In 1911, it was purchased by a former employee, Clifford E. Ridgely, who continued the company under the Ridgely name.
The Kaempf CC Tuba has a very interesting design feature. The four rotary valves, which are usually positioned parallel to the front of the tuba, are instead are angled down (see close up of valve section below). This allows the second valve tubing to be positioned towards the rear of the tuba( shown in the photo of the back of the tuba below) instead of towards the thumb ring on the front of the instrument. Because of this unusual design, the keys are bent up almost perpendicular to the rotors.
It is possible that Kaempf might have been influenced by the side roller rotary valve design patented by the European maker V. F. Cerveny in the latter part of the 19th century.
This Kaempf CC tuba is the only rotary valve contrabass tuba in the collection with this very unusual valve position.
https://simonettitubacollection.com/ins ... es-c-1900/