1800s—the period of greatest development and modernization of brass instruments.

1801—Johann Wilhelm Carris, Portrait of a Cologne City Hornist (see below; public domain).

Early 19th century—Anonymous oil painting on wood door panel (source: proantic.com). See below; public domain.

1803—Trumpet concerto by Johann Nepomuk Hummel one the first major concertos for the instrument.

1806—Carl Maria von Weber wrote his Concertino for Horn in 1806.

1806—Germany: Discussing the trombone, Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart writes, “This instrument is entirely ecclesiastical…This instrument has never been profaned throughout the millennia, but rather has always remained a heritage of God’s temple…In our days, however, they have been desecrated for the service of opera, and the trombone is no longer the property of God’s worship. It is also used now with great effect in the choruses of large operas…Not only church music has now been composed for trombone, but also concertos, sonatas, and solos, and these always have an admirable effect…But it is certain that the sound of the trombone is truly intended for religion and not at all for secular use.”

c. 1815—France: Jacques-François Gamelin (1774-1871), Portrait of a Horn Player (see below; public domain). 

1815—Italy: Rosa Bacigalupo, French Horn Player. Clements Collection, Georgetown University Library (see below; public domain).

1818—Sussex, England: Wind Instruments and Time Measures from John Wilkes, Encyclopaedia londinensis, or, Universal dictionary of arts, sciences, and literature (see below; public domain).

1818—The first horn rotor is patented by Heirich Stölzel and Friedrich Blümel in Germany.

c. 1820—Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Frank Johnson (1792-1844), brass player active in Philadelphia (see below; public domain).

c. 1820—France: Charles-Marie Bouton (1781-1853), Intérieur d’une sacristie. A serpent hangs on the wall near the window (see below; public domain.

1820-1830—London, England: George Scharf, Street Musicians (British Museum). See below; public domain.

c. 1821—Peru: Cuzco school, músicos populares (see below; public domain).

1821-22—Sint-Martinuskerk, Volkegem (municipality of Oudenaarde), Belgium: The organ dates from 1821-1822; the painting is likely that vintage. Notice the serpent and rear-facing trombone (see below; public domain).

c. 1826—German instrument makers began producing valved trumpets. a German valve trumpet was brought to Paris where it was copied and began to gain wide acceptance.

1826—Hector Berlioz was the first known composer to use valve trumpet, writing for it in his Overture to Les Francs-juges.

1826—Elis Chiewitz, Illustration of a figure from Carl Michael Bellman’s Fredman’s Epistles, the horn player Fader Bergström (see below; public domain).

c. 1828—The cornet was developed by Jean-Louis Antoine. This new instrument quickly gained popularity for its chromatic agility.

1828—Valve trombone is developed

c. 1830—Vienna, Austria: Eduard Constantin Lewy (1796-1846) Family Portrait; his son Richard is shown playing horn and his daughter Melanie playing harp. Eduard was a founding member of the Vienna Philharmonic (see below; public domain).

1832—France: François Gabriel Guillaume Lépaulle, Presumed Portrait of Future Comte de Plaisance (see below; public domain).

1834—Hector Berlioz, complaining about Mozart’s depiction of the Last Judgment in the Requiem, says, “Why just one trombone to sound the terrible blast that should echo round the world and raise the dead from the grave? Why keep the other two trombones silent when not three, not thirty, not three hundred would be enough?” (Macdonald 220).

1835—First composer to use valve horns: Fromental Halévy’s opera, La Juive.

1835—the first tuba, pitched in F with five valves, was invented by Berlin instrument makers Wilhelm Wieprecht and Johann Gottfried Moritz

1837—The Concertino for Trombone was composed by Ferdinand David.

1838—A tenor tuba is produced by Berlin instrument maker Johann Gottfried Moritz

c. 1840—Heinrich Franz Gaudenz von Rustige (German, 1810-1900), Country Musicians (see below; public domain).

1840-1860—Germany: Set of musical figures (V&A Museum). See below; public domain.

1841—New York, New York: W. W. Wheelock, Portrait of a Gentleman Holding a Horn While Writing Music (see below; public domain).

1843—The earliest euphonium invented by Sommer of Weimar.

c. 1845—London, England: G. Redler, Musical Bouquet: Les Chiens Quadrille—The Dogs (Library of Congress). See below; public domain.

c. 1845—Man with keyed bugle. Daguerreotype, sixth plate. NY Times/Greg French Collection (see below; public domain).

1847—England: Christmas Carolers (wood engraving). See below; public domain.

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).

c. 1850—Germany or England: Carl Haag (1820-1915), The Player (see below; public domain).

c. 1850—United Kingdom: George Fox (1816-1910), A Bass Note (see below; public domain).

c. 1850—France: Jules Salles-Wagner (1814-1898), Portrait de M… ex musicien du prince de Joinville sur la frégate la Belle Poule (see below; public domain).

c. 1850—Germany: Adolf Heinrich Richter (1812-1852), Wirtshausgaste Am Tisch Mit Pfeife Bzw. Trompete (see below; public domain).

c. 1850—Paul van der Vin (Belgian, 1823-1887), Return from The Hunt (see below; public domain).

c. 1850—French playing card (see below; public domain).

1850—Paris: Lithograph by Alexandre Désiré Collette; caption (not shown): “J. H. Maury, Lauréat du Concours de 1849 Elève de Mr. Maifred, Professeur au Conservatoire” (see below; public domain).

c. 1851—Paris: Giant tuba in E-flat by Adolphe Sax (see below; public domain).

Mid-late 1800s— Richard Wagner and Hector Berlioz both began to champion the use of the tuba in their works.

1854—London: Several concerts are given by “Distin’s Flugel Horn Union” (see below; public domain)

1855—France: Le Lendemain de la Saint Sébastien, a painting by Jules Adolphe Breton, features a group of musicians that includes a woman playing trombone (see below image; public domain).

1856—Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Thomas Ewbank: Collecting Alms for the Festivity of Espírito Santo (Holy Ghost), with a Music Band. Source: Thomas Ewbank, Life in Brazil (New York, 1856), p. 251. See below; public domain.

1859—France: Jules Pelcoca, Souvenirs of Enghien-les-Bains (see below; public domain).

1859—Strasbourg, France/Germany: Louis Frédéric Schutzenberger, Chasseur sonnant du cor ou L’Hallali (see below; public domain).

c. 1860, Michigan: Hull & Arnold’s Quadrille Band (photo credit: Christoph Wagner). See below; public domain.

c. 1860—A carte de visite by Henry A. Hose of Watertown, N.Y. shows a civil war-era soldier with a four-valve E-flat over-the-shoulder bass saxhorn (see below; public domain).

1861—Germany: Carl Friedrich Moritz Müller (German, 1807–1865), Bauernhochzeit (Farmer’s wedding). See detail and full image below; public domain.

1861-65—United States: Unidentified Union soldier with circular cornet (see below; public domain).

c. 1863—Belgian collector César Snoeck (see below; public domain).

1863—Paris, France: Carnaud, Methode de Sax-Horns (see below; public domain).

1864—One of the most influential methods of brass playing was published, J.B. Arban’s Complete Conservatory Method. Although initially written for trumpet and cornet students, this method book has been transcribed, published, and used for almost all members of the modern brass family today.

1865—Mexico: Louis Falconnet, San Luis Potosí—from his album, Mexique. Falconnet, an officer in the French army, created the album while on his tour of duty in Mexico (1864-1866).

c. 1865—August Jernberg (1826-1896), Westphalian Peasants’ Revels (see detail and full image below).

1867—Paris, France: Claude Guillaumin, Les deux aveugles (from La Rue, 26 octobre 1867). See below; public domain.

1868—Salt Lake City, Utah: Tenth Ward Brass Band (see below; public domain).

c. 1869—Thomas Benjamin Clark (1819-1910) with ophicleide. Member of the brass band that performed at the Golden Spike Ceremony at Promontory Point, 1869.

c. 1870—Germany: Preiscourant der Firmen Carl und Eduard Kruspe (Price list of the companies Carl and Eduard Kruspe). See below; public domain.

1871—Milan, Italy: Giuseppe Verdi makes the following comment about bass trombone in a letter to his publisher about the forthcoming Italian premiere of Aida: “I must insist on the fourth trombone. That bombardon is impossible. Tell Faccio [the conductor] to consult the first trombonist if he thinks fit, to see what should be done. I should prefer a bass trombone, which is of the same family as the others: but if it proves too tiring and difficult to play, take one of the usual ophicleides which go down to low B. In short, do whatever you please, but not that devil of a bombardon which does not blend with the others” (Leavis, Cimbasso).

c. 1875—Nicolas Sicard, Bohemian Musicians (see below; pubic domain).

c. 1875—Spain: Jose Denis Belgrano (Spanish, 1844-1917), Murguistas sorprendidos por la lluvia (Music Theatre Musicians Surpried by the Rain). See below; public domain.

c. 1875—Spain: José Denis Belgrano (Spain 1844-1917), El músico (see below; public domain).

c. 1875—Conrad Beckmann (German, 1846-1902), Tuba Player Drinking Beer (see below; public domain).

1879—Munich, Germany: Polish artist Francisz Streitt’s painting, Wędrowni muzykanci(Wandering Musicians), features a trombone player among 5 musicians (see below image; public domain).

1879—Munich, Germany: Polish artist Franciszek Streitt,’s painting, Nowy rok—pozdrowienie poranne (New Year—Morning Greeting) includes a trombonist (see below image; public domain). Source: MutualArt. This painting has also been called Twilight Serenade in a version that is more yellow (see second image below). Source: Bamfords Auctioneers & Valuers.

c. 1880—Albion, New York (see below; public domain).

c. 1880—The Happy Musician by Pompeo Massani (1850-1920). See below; public domain.

c. 1880—Italy: Pompeo Massani (Italian, 1850-1920), The Tuba Player (see below; public domain).

c. 1880—Italy: Pompeo Massani (Italian, 1850-1920), Husband and Wife Playing Music (see below; public domain).

c. 1880—Leon Herbo (Belgian, 1850-1907), Un concert cacophonique (see below; public domain).

c. 1880—Germany: Carl Kronberger (1841-1921), Portrait of a Horn Player (see below; public domain).

c. 1880—United States: “The Celebrated Female Band, now with the Burr Robbins Consolidated Railroad Shows” (see below; public domain).

1880s—Philadelphia, PA: Victorian trade card published by Sunshine Pub. Co. (see below; public domain).

c. 1880—France: Henri Brispot (French, 1846-1928), Personnage d’église jouant du serpent (see below; public domain).

1881—France: (Before this date) Antoine Jean Bail, La Fanfare de Bois-le-Roi (see below; public domain).

1882—Spain: Ilustration from El Mundo Fisico (see below; public domain).

1883—Müder Musikant, Tired Musician, by Hugo Wilhelm Kauffmann (1844-1915). See below; public domain.

1883—England: John Haynes-Williams (British, 1836-1908), Herald of the Bullfight (see below; public domain).

1884—Paris, France: A print from G. Bruno’s Le tour de la France, depicting the principal musical instruments of the time, includes a rear-facing trombone (see below image; public domain) (Bruno 53).

c. 1885—Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Trombonist in cabinet card photo (see below; public domain).

1885—United States: Shepard Family Band (see below; public domain)

1886—Spain: Ricardo Villegas Cordero, After the Mass (see below; public domain).

1887—France: Henri Brispot (French, 1846-1928), Chantres au lutrin (see below; public domain).

Late 19th century—France: An advertisement uses an image of a young serpent player in liturgical garb with music from the Kyrie portion of the mass (see below; public domain).

1887—Yorkshire, England: British school, Portrait of John Dean, Trombonist in the Glusburn and Crosshills Band, Yorkshire (see below; public domain).

1887—London, England: 2 pages from the Lafleur & Sons musical instrument catalog (see below; public domain).

1888—London, England: A League Band in the Rain, in Illustrated London News (see below; public domain).

1888—Munich, Germany: Peter Kraemer, Enttäuschter Trompeter (Disappointed Trumpeter). See below; public domain.

1889—Two musicians of the republican guard (see below; public domain). Source: Evans Picture Library.

c. 1890—By around this date, the modern form of the orchestral trumpet became common. In France, England, and the United States piston valves were generally used, but rotary valves were more common in Germany, Austria, and Italy. It was also around this time that the trumpet pitched in B flat became the most common.

c. 1890—Germany: Tubaspieler by Hugo Kotschenreiter (1854-1908).

c. 1890—Germany: Hugo Kotschenreiter (1854-1908), Sitzender Hochzeitsmusikant mit Horn and Der Hornbläser (see below; public domain).

c. 1890—Germany: Peter Kraemer (1857-1936), Tyrolean Musician. See below; public domain.

c. 1890—England: John William Brooke (1853-1919), Alfred Fishburn (Temple Newsom House, Leeds, UK).

c. 1890—Italy: Tuba-playing Monk, by Gaetano Bellei (1857-1922). See below; public domain.

c. 1890—Austria/Germany: Carl Ostersetzer (Austrian, 1865-1914), Dorfmusikant (see below; public domain).

c. 1890—Austria/Germany: Carl Ostersetzer (Austrian, 1865-1914), The Musician (see below; public domain).

c. 1890—Carl Ostersetzer (1865-1914), The Instrument Maker (see below; public domain).

c. 1890—Georgetown, Colorado: Georgetown Cornet Band (see below; public domain).

c. 1890—Spain: Salvador Sánchez Barbudo (Spanish, 1857-1917), Hombre con buccin. See below; public domain.

c. 1890—Spain: Vicente March y Marco (Spanish, 1859-1914), Circus Performers at Rest. Notice the horn, ophicleide and buccin (see detail and full image below; public domain).

c. 1890—Belleville, Illinois: Victorian trade card for Chas. Merck & Son Bakery & Confectionery (see below; public domain).

c. 1890—France: The caption reads, “Too much zeal” (see below; public domain).

c. 1890—Victorian trade card showing a street musician (see below; public domain).

1890s—Cabinet card photo (see below; public domain).

c. 1890—Antonio Zoppi (1860-1926), Quartet of Musicians (see below; public domain).

c. 1890s—Australia: William Gore (son of pioneer John Gore, later Major, Staff Bandmaster, etc) with a collection of instruments. Source: The Salvation Army Australia-Museum (see below, public domain).

Late 19th century—Vienna, Austria: Wilhelm Giessel (1869-1938), Wiener Musikanten (see below; public domain).

Late 19th century—Italy: Gaetano Bellei (1857-1922), L’osteria di Collegara (see below; public domain).

c. 1890—Thale, Germany: Children’s Posaunenchor (see below; public domain).

c. 1890—Christian Krohg (Norwegian, 1852–1925); Musicians, study for Totalistenes søndagsutflukt (see below; public domain).

1890—Sweden: Holmsunds Musikkår. Västerbottens Museum. See below; public domain.

c. 1895—Spain: José Benlliure y Gil (1858-1937), La Misa Mayor (see detail and full image below; public domain).

c. 1895—Spain: José Benlliure y Gil (1858-1937), The Musician’s Apprentice. Notice the buccin, ophicleide, and horn (see below; public domain).

1895—London, England: Adam Diston, The Rehearsal (see below; public domain).

1895—Monk Musician, from the painting by Kramer (see below; public domain).

1895—Sandnæs, Norway: Sandnæs Strygeorkester (Sandnæs String Orchestra). See below image; public domain.

1896—England: English School, A Noisy Neighbor (see below; public domain).

1897—France: Auguste Moreau-Deschanvres, The Ophicleide, Church of Saint-Saulve (see below; public domain).

Late 1800s—Carte de visite of valve trombonist (see below; public domain).

Late 1800s—The vast majority of literature for brass instruments performed today was written from the late 19th century through today. This is largely due to developments in brass instruments starting in the late 1700s that allowed for greater ease of chromatic manipulation and expressive performance.