Trombone
I recently added the below caption and image to the Trombone History Timeline (19th Century—first half). I have run into numerous similar images along the way, but it’s rare to find one that includes a trombonist.
c. 1840—Holland: A lithograph depicting a lively Dutch house concert, from a drawing by David Joseph Bles (1821-1899), incudes a trombonist (see below image; click image to expand) (public domain).
I just added the below image and caption to the Trombone History Timeline (17th century, first half). I also added it to the HubPages articles Angel Trombonist Throughout History and How to Hold a Sackbut: The Grip of the Early Trombone in Pictures. It’s nice to see the trombone front and center. Click on the image for a larger version.
1600s—Malvaglia, Switzerland: A fresco in the parish church of San Martino features a concert of angel musicians with a trombonist (see below detail; 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 just added two new paintings to the Trombone History Timeline. They are shown below, along with their captions. I have also added them to the post, Pick That Thing Up and Play! 11 Trombone Paintings from 17th-Century Flanders (which was formerly titled 9 Paintings from 17th-Century Flanders). It’s interesting how similar several of the 11 paintings in that post are.
c. 1610—The Judgment of Midas, a painting by Flemish artist Adriaen van Stalbemt, includes a trombone. The trombone rests on the ground among several other instruments (see below image; public domain).
1639—Adriaen van Stalbemt, a Flemish Baroque artist from Antwerpt, paints Midas Listening to Apollo, which includes a trombone among several other instruments resting on the ground (see below image; public domain).
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]).
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).
I recently found the below image, which I will be adding to the Trombone History Timeline (19th century-first half). It is a print by a respected German artist, apparently produced in one of his more whimsical moments.
At 6’4″, I am often asked if you need to be tall to be a trombonist. The answer is of course not (many of my favorite trombonists are not particularly tall), but it doesn’t hurt.
c. 1840—A lithograph by respected German artist Heinrich Maria von Hess (1798-1863) portrays a short trombonist (see below image; public domain) (German National Museum, Nuremberg).
I just added two more images to the Trombone History Timeline (20th century). Both are military watercolors by Albert Escher (1833-1905), depicting soldiers of an earlier era. Notice that the trombone player is almost identical (including his instrument) in the two paintings, the differences being the uniforms and, of course, the facial hair.
c. 1901—A watercolor signed by Albert Escher (1833-1905) depicts a group of Dutch soldiers, including a military trombonist. The title is Netherlands, 1821 (see below image; public domain) (New York Public Library Digital Gallery).
c. 1901—A watercolor signed by Albert Escher (1833-1905) depicts a group of Italian soldiers, including a military trombonist. The title is Italy: Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, 1824-1828 (see below image; public domain) (New York Public Library Digital Gallery).
I just added the below image and caption to the Trombone History Timeline (17th century, first half). Another angel-trombone.
1638—Schleiz, Germany: A painting on the left organ shutter in the Bergkirche includes an angel trombonist among several angel musicians (see below image; public domain). 
I just added the below entry and image to the 19th century timeline (2nd half) and to the blog post, Serpent & Ophicleide: History and Images.
1865-1916—Netherlands: A painting by artist Willem Constantijn Staring (1847-1916) depicts bandsmen of the 9th Regiment Infantry, including a pair of trombonists and a musician playing a green-colored serpent (see below image; public domain).