Tuba Tuesday: Couturier, E flat helicon, 3 piston, c.1919

[bisontuba]

This Tuba Tuesday the Museum features a Couturier, E flat helicon, 3 piston, c.1919.

“CONICAL BORE / PATD / E.A. Couturier Co. / LA PORTE / IND.” on bell.

16.5” bell, bore from .600-.665....



https://simonettitubacollection.com/ins ... ousaphone/

[bort2.0]

@humBell -- Hey Rob, in all your travels, make sure you get down to NC to see the tuba museum, if you haven't already. I think you'd really enjoy it. Anyway, this horn reminded me of your Couturier Curiosity thread.

[humBell]

@humBell -- Hey Rob, in all your travels, make sure you get down to NC to see the tuba museum, if you haven't already. I think you'd really enjoy it. Anyway, this horn reminded me of your Couturier Curiosity thread.

I am absolutely certain i would.

How much ahead planning is involved with such a trip?

It just occurred to me i might be rolling through that way in August, and could start thinking about it now...

[bort2.0]

@humBell -- Hey Rob, in all your travels, make sure you get down to NC to see the tuba museum, if you haven't already. I think you'd really enjoy it. Anyway, this horn reminded me of your Couturier Curiosity thread.

I am absolutely certain i would.

How much ahead planning is involved with such a trip?

It just occurred to me i might be rolling through that way in August, and could start thinking about it now...

If you go to the website, there's an email address for Vince. Send him a message and tell him when you're thinking about coming down, and he'll let you know if that works for him.

It doesn't seem like the building is in a great neighborhood, so I'm guessing he doesn't spend a lot of time there except for when he's giving tours.

He's not a very young guy, probably early 80s, but he has a lot of energy and enthusiasm towards his collection. And not to sound morbid, but there may not be so many years left to have a proper visit like this. We hope for as many as possible, but life takes it's course.

I would suggest bringing plenty of your own stories and information to share with him, and you would get a lot of it that way. He seems eager to learn, too. I think there's a lot of potential for one-sided conversation, because he may not always be showing the collections to people who know a lot about tubas. And it's a different level of conversation that he can have with a person who knows a lot about these things. Particularly with the older and more obscure things that you seem to gravitate towards.