Trombone
Just added the below two images to the 16th-century timeline. They are both from a procession in 1582 in Dresden, Germany (more details can be found in the timeline). The fact that the trombone players are either female or dressed as female is interesting, as is the instrumentation of the ensembles. Click on picture for larger image.
I recently added the first image/entry shown below to the Trombone History Timeline (17th century–first half). The painting is noteworthy for three reasons, in my opinion: 1) the performers appear to be upper-class, 2) the trombonist is female, and 3) it bears at least a passing resemblance to two other trombone paintings, also from the early 17th century, that depict “concert” scenes (see 1600s and c. 1610, below).
For a related article, see Females in Trombone History, 1500-1900.
c. 1615—Italy: Sienese artist Francesco Rustici (sometimes known as “il Rustichino”) includes what appears to be a trombone in his painting, Concerto. The trombonist, standing in the middle-rear, appears to be female (see below image; public domain) (Museo di Arti Figurative; Markova). For a color detail of the trombone (labeled “trumpet” on the site), see here.
1600s—Italy: An anonymous Italian painting portrays an instrumental ensemble with diverse dress and a mixed grouping of winds, strings, and keyboard (see below image; public domain).
c. 1610—Rome, Italy: Lionello Spada’s painting, Concert, which shows a group of musicians presumably preparing for a performance, includes a clear depiction of a musician removing the outer slide of a trombone (see below image; public domain) (Egan; Monducci 81).
Yesterday I added the below images and entry in the 20th century trombone history timeline. The detail of the poster only shows one trombonist, and the full image is hard to see, but there are actually two trombonists included.
The creation of numerous “Damen Blasorchester” and “Ladies’ Brass Band” ensembles seems to constitute something of a small trend in the early 20th century. The IBEW website (Internet Bandsman’s Everything Within), which is an excellent brass band history source, shows 3 photographs of the Janietz Elite Damen Blas-Orchester (the group shown in the poster below). They also have photos of numerous other “Damen Blasorchester” and “Ladies’ Brass Band” ensembles from the early 20th century, many of which include trombones.
1911—Germany: A poster advertising “Janietz, Elite Damen Blas-Orchester,” a female brass band, includes 2 trombonists (see detail, far left, and full image, adjacent; public domain).
Although it has perhaps not been widely known, there are records of female trombonists throughout trombone history, dating back to the 16th century. The Trombone History Timeline shows, for example, entries from 1594, 1600, 1613, 1618, 1630, and 1632 that detail activities of trombone-playing nuns in the Italian cities of Ferrara, Venice, and Bologna. The following painting by Italian Pietro Paolini (or his school), dating from c. 1625, offers a rather clear representation of a female trombonist among a group of musicians (source: Patrizia Giusti, Pietro Paolini: pittore lucchese, 1603-1681. Maria Pacini Fazzi editore in Lucca, 1987, p. 158).
Pietro Paolini, Gruppo di giovani suonatori con vaso di fiori