I added the below entry and picture to the 19th century timeline (1st half) and to the HubPages article, Backward Advances: Rear-Facing Trombones throughout History. Although rear-facing trombones were common during the 19th century (see the many examples in the…
bassoon iconography
Paper Serpents
As I mentioned in an earlier post on paper trombonists, an interesting little subset of music history images exists in the form of contemporary 19th-century military figurines. These figurines include military musicians, and, more specifically, serpent players. Although a number…
Paper Trombonists
The popular term paper tiger, indicating something that initially seems threatening but is in reality harmless, does not seem fitting for the trombone in general. If anything, the trombone is musically quite the reverse! There is, however, an interesting collection…
Trombone & Bassoon Trio: An 18th Century Fresco
I just added the below entry to the 18th century timeline and the HubPages article on Cherubs Playing Trombone. c. 1715—Vienna, Austria: A fresco above the organ loft in Vienna’s Peterskirche (St. Peter’s church) depicts cherubs playing trombone and bassoon…
Trombone History: A Soldier I Will Be, Part 2
I’m told that more and more musicians in the job market are turning toward military bands as symphony orchestras struggle in the current financial climate. Interestingly enough, the history of the trombone in military bands actually goes back farther than…
Pair of Ophicleide Images
Last week I posted Ophicleide History and Images. What does this subject have to do with trombone history? Well, the ophicleide, as I point out in that post, is a predecessor to the tuba and a fellow low brass member….
Serpent & Ophicleide: History and Images
I recently came across two humorous ophicleide images from 19th century France (1847 and 1862, below) while doing some trombone history research. The ophicleide, by the way, is a fellow low brass instrument—a 19th century invention that is considered a…
Trombone History: A Soldier I Will Be
Recently added quite a few images to the trombone history timeline (19th century–1st half, 19th century–2nd half, 20th century) related to the trombone in the military. Here they are, below, along with their captions. As always, for sources, see the…
Quirky Images: Trombone and Worms
It’s not what you think. Jules Worms was a French artist who lived from 1832 to 1914. Both of the below images by him were recently added to the 19th century timeline (2nd half), and both are a bit quirky:…
Bassoonist Does Battle
Another off-topic post, again about an image that I couldn’t pass up from Cassin-Scott and Fabb’s Military Bands and Their Uniforms (London: Blandford Press, 1978): We occasionally hear stories about military musicians pressed into actual combat situations. This picture, a…