Trombone
I just added the below entry and picture to the Serpent & Ophicleide History blog post. There are now 125 images in that post! If you scroll through the images, you can see the trend of military and church settings for the serpent.
1862-71—Paris, France: A caricature by Draner (Jules Renard) from his collection, Types Militaires, reflects the two traditional homes of the serpent: church and military (see below image; public domain).
I recently added 16 more images of serpents and ophicleides to the post Serpents & Ophicleides: History and Images, bringing the total to 120 images. I’m not sure if you can find that many historical pictures of serpents and ophicleides anywhere else, at least in any one place. Are there any trends to be seen in the depictions? Well, first of all, they are overwhelmingly French. Second, it is easy to divide the pictures into two broad categories: religious and military. Third, in the mid-to-late 19th century, you start to see more and more humorous depictions and caricatures, which is a trend I think you can see in music iconography in general. Here are the 16 new images, along with their captions:
c. 1590—Milan, Italy: Aurelio Luini depicts a cherub concert in his fresco in Milan’s San Simpliciano. The cherub to the immediate right of the trombonist may be playing a very small serpent (see below image; public domain) (Kendrick, Sounds of Milan 77 [black & white version]).
1762-1765—Paris, France: Denis Diderot includes the below graphic of the serpent in his famous Encyclopédie (see below image; public domain).
1809-1837—France: A printed entitled Planche de militaires, published by Jean-Baptiste Castiaux, includes a depiction of a military serpent player (see below image; public domain) (Paris, Museum of Civilization in Europe and the Mediterranean).
1825-50—Strasbourg, France: A watercolor by Wurtz and Pees, part of a collection of military figurines, depicts a serpent player of the regiment of mounted grenadiers of the Imperial Guard (see below image; public domain) (Paris, musée de l’Armée).
1825-50—Strasbourg, France: A watercolor by Wurtz and Pees, part of a collection of military figurines, includes depictions of 2 serpent players of the battalion of Neufchatel of 1808 (see below image; public domain) (Paris, musée de l’Armée).
1825-50—Strasbourg, France: A watercolor by Wurtz and Pees, part of a collection of military figurines, includes a depiction of a serpent player on horseback with the 7th regiment of cuirassiers (see below image; public domain) (Paris, musée de l’Armée).
1825-50—Strasbourg, France: A watercolor by Wurtz and Pees, part of a collection of military figurines, includes a depiction of a serpent player with the musicians of the “régiment Irlandais, 1809-1811″ (see below detail; public domain) (Paris, musée de l’Armée).
1825-1850—Strasbourg, France: The Wurtz and Pées family produces paper figurines of various military units. Among them are the below cavalry musicians, which include a serpent player (see below image; public domain).
1850—An illustration features an ophicleide player from the Coldstream Guards Band in full uniform (see below image; public domain).
1850-1875—France: Musique d’infanterie française, a color lithograph printed by Pellerin, includes 3 ophicleide players among the infantry musicians (see below image–click picture for larger version; public domain) (Paris, Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilization).
1862—Paris, France: A print by Jules Gaildrau entitled Fête des mécaniciens de la marine Impériale is published in the periodical L’Illustration. It includes an ophicleide among the band instruments at the celebration (see detail and full image below, after a sketch by Letuaire; public domain) (Dec 27, 1862, p. 432).
1867—Paris, France: A print after a drawing by Letuaire depicts the funeral convoy of Commander John Cornwall, US Navy, who died aboard the Miantonomah in Toulon Harbor. Among the musicians in the procession are a pair of ophicleides (see detail and full image below; public domain) (L’Illustration, March 2, 1867, p. 140).
c. 1875—Paris, France: Choeur de six personnages en costume ecclésiastique devant un lutrin, a pen and ink drawing by French painter and illustrator Charles Henri Pille, features an ophicleide player accompanying 5 singers, all of them in religious garb (see below image; public domain) (Paris, The Louvre).
1897—Paris, France: A comic by Henriot (pseudonym for cartoonist Maigrot Henry) features an ophicleide being used to hold champagne by soldiers of the Préobrajensky regiment, a prestigious regiment of the Russian Imperial Guard. The caption reads, “La musique du régiment de Préobrajensky.—Encore des patriotes qui ont fourré dans ton ophicléide six bouteilles de champagne!—Je comprends maintenant pour quoi il ne voulait pas jouer!” (see below image; public domain) (L’Illustration, Nov 20, 1897).
I recently found a clear color image of the trombone-playing cherub in Milan’s San Simpliciano. I have replaced the old, blurry, black and white image in the Trombone History Timeline (16th century) and in the HubPages article, Trombone History: Cherubs Playing the Trombone (where you can view 10 additional depictions of cherub-trombonists). An interesting side note: the cherub to the right of the trombonist may actually be playing a serpent; if so, it would be a very early visual depiction of the instrument.
You can see the new image, along with its caption, immediately below. Beneath that are two additional views of the painting. Enjoy!
c. 1590—Milan, Italy: Aurelio Luini depicts a cherub playing trombone in his fresco in Milan’s San Simpliciano (see below image; public domain) (Kendrick, Sounds of Milan 77 [black & white version]).
Here is a view of the full cherub painting (click image for larger version):
And finally, here is a wide view of the painting and the organ it is connected with:
I’ve added 6 new serpent and ophicleide images to the post Serpent & Ophicleide: History and Images, bringing the total images in that post to more than 100. Here are the new pictures, along with their captions:
1673—Rome, Italy: Athanasius Kircher includes a print and description of the serpent in his treatise, Phonurgia nova (see below image; public domain) (source: European Cultural Heritage Online).
1844—France: An illustration by J. J. Grandville in Un autre Monde depicts an ophicleide gone awry, as described by Grandville: “An accident marked the end of the concert. During the fireworks in D, where the fugue ended smorzando in a sweet and dreamy melody, an ophicleide, overloaded with harmony, suddenly exploded like a bomb, launching the blacks, the whites, the grupetti of sharps, eight- and sixteenth notes; the clouds of musical smoke and the flames of melody were dispersed into the air. Many dilettantes had their ears blown out, while others were injured by the shrapnel of the F and G clefs. Measures have been take to ensure that such an accident does not happen again” (see below image; public domain).
1846—Paris, France: A caricature by J.J. Grandville depicts Berlioz conducting a monstrous orchestra that includes a giant ophicleide (see below image; public domain) (source: wikimedia commons). The original version of the image, published in a Paris newspaper in 1845, was black and white and did not include the large ophicleide on the top-right. The version below was published in Louis Reybaud’s novel, Jérome Paturot a la recherche d’une position sociale, with a caption reading, “Fortunately the hall is solid…it can handle the strain.”
c. 1850—Paris, France: A humorous lithograph by artist Charles Edouard de Beaumont, printed by Aubert, shows a somewhat shabby-looking man with a serpent approaching two women. The caption beneath indicates one of the women saying “Clarisse, beware…the serpent!” (see below image; public domain) (source: Museum of Musical Instruments).
1876—Paris, France: Université illustrée publishes Chantres au lutrin, a print by Henri Brispot depicting a serpent with voices (see below image; public domain) (October 1876; source: Museum of Musical Instruments).
1906—A postcard by R. F. Outcault from Buster Brown Series No. 1000 depicts a young ophicleide player (see below image; public domain) (source: Serpent Newsletter, September 2011 [black and white version]).
I recently added the below images and captions to the Trombone History Timeline. In addition to the 3 rear-facing trombones and the buccin (dragon-bell trombone), low brass players may be interested in the 2 serpents and the ophicleide in these pictures. For more information, see the HubPages article Backward Advances: Rear-Facing Trombones Throughout History, and the blog post Serpent & Ophicleide: History and Images.
c. 1800—Germany: A print of military musicians entitled Turkische Musick der K. Baierischen Grendier Garde, now held in the German National Museum, includes a rear-facing trombone (see below detail; public domain).
c. 1800—Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Philipp Jakob Döring publishes a sheet of cut-outs of military musicians that includes a rear-facing trombone (see below detail; public domain) (German National Museum).
1800s—France: A print entitled Macédoines—Jongleurs—Tours de force et d’adresse features a row of musicians, including a dragon-bell trombone (see below detail; public domain) (Paris, Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée).
1856-1900—The Netherlands: The publisher Glenisson and Sons publishes a print of military musicians that includes 2 rear-facing trombones (see below detail; public domain) (Catchpenny Prints of Royal Dutch Library).
I just added the below image to the post, Serpent & Images: History and Images. The two trombone-like instruments are pretty curious, especially the one on the right.
c. 1600—Germany: An image depicting a quintet of civic wind players (Stadtpfeifer) includes what may be a serpent (see far right of below image; public domain) (Nuremberg, German National Museum).
I just added the below entry and image to the post Serpent & Ophicleide: History and Images.
1607—Dresden, Germany: A depiction of a portion of a procession features 3 cornetts and what may be a serpent (see below image; public domain) (Dresden, Sachsische Landesbibliothek).
I just added the following 3 images to the post Serpent & Ophicleide: History and Images, bringing the total number of images in that post to 90. Enjoy!
c. 1800—Nuremberg, Germany: An image depicting Nuremberg military musicians includes a serpent player (see below image; public domain) (Nuremberg, German National Museum).
1828—Great Britain: A military image features a British serpent player in full military garb (see below image; public domain) (New York Public Library Digital Gallery).
1830—France: Garde Imperiale: Regiments des Grenadiers a pieds, an image created by G. David in 1830 but meant to depict 1804, includes a military serpent player (see below image; public domain).
Just added the following two images and their captions to the 19th Century Timeline (first half and second half). The first one, Musique d’Amateurs, has also been added to the post Serpent & Ophicleide: History and Images. The second one, The Elections in England, will also be added to the article Backward Advances: Rear-Facing Trombones Throughout History.
1840—Epinal, France: An engraving entitled Musique d’Amateurs, published by Pellerin, features 3 trombones among 27 figures with various musical instruments. One of the trombones is a buccin, or dragon-bell instrument (see below image; click picture for larger version; public domain).
1852—Paris, France: A print by Janet-Lange entitled The Elections in England includes a rear-facing trombone (see detail below; public domain) (L’Illustration, July 17, 1852, p. 33).
Yesterday I added the below entry and image to the blog post, Serpent & Ophicleide: History and Images. Including a few others I have recently added, that post now features 87 images! There are exceptions, but one of the things that is most readily apparent is just how many of the pictures originate from France.
1887—France: A painting by Edmond de Boislecomte entitled The Lectern of Aulnay-les-Bondy features an ophicleide player in a sacred setting (see below image; public domain).