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Date of manufacture an old tuba.

Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2025 6:11 am
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

Re: Date of manufacture an old tuba.

Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2025 11:25 pm
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:

Re: Date of manufacture an old tuba.

Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2025 12:38 pm
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.

Re: Date of manufacture an old tuba.

Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2025 12:41 pm
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.

Re: Date of manufacture an old tuba.

Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2025 1:42 pm
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