Strangely shaped sousaphone, does anyone have more information?

[Paixdieu]

Hi all,

English is not my first language so I'm probably not using the correct technical terminology, but I recently found images of a weird type of sousaphone from some attic in France:

1
2
3

As you can see, the horn is in pretty bad shape, it looks like an Eb horn to me, but I could be mistaken. The most striking feature is the way that the part just below the bell connects to the rest of the body. I've seen a lot of sousaphones, but I've never seen this anywhere else.

Does anyone know what type / make of sousaphone this is; or perhaps its age? I'd be very grateful if someone could tell me more!

[matt g]

No idea but that sure is interesting!

[dp]

While some grew up calling that a Seussophone,
It was actually known as a pooglehorn.
Did I ever tell you how lucky you are?

[arpthark]

Very interesting to see an Eb sousie that doesn't have the "false tube" shoulder rest.

[Dave Detwiler]

While this image is much earlier (1906), before the forward-facing bell, it does show an Eb body that is similar to what can be seen in your photos. These Sousaphones were imported by J. W. Pepper, but I have yet to learn where they originated from - Europe, most likely?

Hope this helps a little!

1906 J. W. Pepper catalog - back page.jpg (132.19 KiB) Viewed 462 times