c. 1600—Milan, Italy: Camillo Procaccini’s fresco in Milan’s church, Sant’Angelo (officially Santa Maria degli Angeli) features an angel playing trombone (see below image; public domain) (source: wikimedia commons). For additional documentation, see Neilson, Camillo Procaccini: Paintings and Drawings, pl. 77.

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 also added the picture to the article, Backward Advances: Rear-Facing Trombones Throughout History, which now has more than 50 visual examples, and decided to append this generalization:  ”I would probably characterize it [the over-the-shoulder trombone] something like this: Iconography suggests that the over-the-shoulder trombone, which can occasionally be seen in images before the 19th century, became widespread in the 19th century. Use of the instrument appears to taper off by the end of the century. Although there is significant variety in iconography, many of the images originate from France, and a large number of them are military.” If you’re like me, you see a generalization and you immediately want to look for exceptions. Well, have at it, itchy fingers (comment box below)!

1820—A hand-colored engraving, entitled Banda Militare, includes depictions of 2 rear-facing trombones (see below image; click on image to expand; public domain) (Oberlin Conservatory Special Collections).

Over the weekend I went through the Alto Trombone History Timeline and double-checked sources. I ended up adding several sources to the Alto Bibliography that had inadvertently been omitted (primarily 19th-century trade catalogs). With these additions, the Alto Timeline now features more than 100 primary sources, not to mention the numerous secondary sources. With the possible exception of Ken Shifrin’s excellent dissertation on the use of alto trombone in the orchestra, I don’t believe there is any other single document on alto trombone that utilizes as many primary sources.

1899—Madrid, Spain: Luisa Lacál, discussing the trombone family in her lexicon, Diccionario de la música, téchico, histórico, bio-bibliográfico, states that the alto trombone (trombone contralto or alt-posaune) is pitched in E-flat (Lacál 549).

George Hogarth, 19th century musicologist and critic

Today I added the below caption to the Alto Trombone Timeline, bringing the total number of primary sources for the timeline to 90. Noteworthy is the fact that the author clearly states that the alto trombone is pitched in F, a fourth above the tenor trombone, not simply in the same key as the tenor with a smaller mouthpiece.

1837—London, England: George Hogarth, Scottish music critic and musicologist, specifies the keys of the members of the trombone family in an article in The Musical World, the preeminent British music journal of the time: “Thus the bass trombone gives the fundamental note G…The tenor trombone is in C, a fourth higher than the bass trombone; and the alto trombone is in F, a fourth above the tenor trombone…” (Hogarth 132).

1853—New York: Allen Dodworth shows position charts for alto trombone in F, tenor trombone in C, tenor trombone in B-flat, and bass trombone in G, in his book, Dodworth’s Brass Band School (see below image; public domain).

Sébastien de Brossard, author of Dictionnaire de musique, 1703

I just added the caption below to the Trombone History Timeline (18th century) and the Alto Trombone Timeline. This brings the number of primary sources for the Alto Trombone Timeline to 89. I’ll be adding several more soon. The reader will notice not only that there are four different trombones in the family, but that Brossard mentions different sizes of instruments, not merely similar instruments with smaller or bigger mouthpieces.

1703—Paris, France: Sébastien de Brossard describes four different sizes of trombones under the “trombone” heading of his Dictionnaire de musique: “There are several sizes which are capable of serving in the performance of different parts in the music: There is a small one which the Italians call TROMBONE PICCOLO and the Germans KLEINE ALT-POSAUNE which can serve as the counter-tenor; the part for it is usually entitled TROMBONE PRIMO or 1^o. There is another one, a little larger, which is called TROMBONE MAGGIORE or MAJORE which can serve as the tenor; its part is entitled TROMBONE SECONDO, II^o, or 2^o. There is a third, even larger, which the Italians call TROMBONE GROSSO and the Germans GROSSE QUART-POSAUNE which can supplement our viola or oboe; its part is entitled TROMBONE TERZO, III^o, or 3^o. Finally, there is one which is the largest of all, one which the Italians call TROMBONE GRANDE and which is heard a great deal especially playing the bass; its part is entitled TROMBONE QUARTO, IV^o, or simply TROMBONE without other addition. It is usually given the fourth-line F-clef, but also very often the fifth-line F-clef because of the depth and profundity of its notes” (paragraph breaks not shown) (Brossard-Gruber 196).

1897—Frankfurt, Germany: Adolph Pochhammer, writing in his Einführung in die Musik, states that the alto trombone is pitched a fourth above the tenor trombone and the bass trombone is pitched a fourth below tenor trombone. With the tenor trombone presumably in B-flat, this places the other instruments in E-flat (alto) and F (bass). Pochhammer also explains that each instrument is written for in its corresponding clef (Pochhammer 168).

I recently added the below prefatory note about sources to the beginning of the Alto Trombone Timeline.

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A note on sources: In historical research, primary sources are gold. Why? Because they bring readers closer to actual documented facts rather than individual interpretations and opinions. The timeline below draws from more than 85 primary sources, which is, I daresay, more primary sources than any other single document on the alto trombone (with the possible exception of bibliographies). In addition, the timeline utilizes numerous current secondary sources, including Early Music, Historic Brass Society Journal, Galpin Society Journal, and a number of recently-published books. If you notice a source in the timeline that you feel has been somehow discredited or improperly vetted, by all means, let me know, and I will consider correcting or deleting the related entry.