1889—New York

Harper’s Weekly magazine runs an image, titled “Quartette of Trombones” (see below image), accompanied by the following somewhat odd (and wildly inaccurate) paragraph about the history of the instrument: “The invention of the trombone has been attributed to Tyrtans, who made it from the bark of a tree, in 685 B.C. Moses, the law-giver of the Scriptures, was the first man to bring into prominence trombones, which were used at palm festivals and also at coronations. Among the ruins of Pompeii was found a trombone with a gold mouthpiece, which was afterward presented by the King of Naples to King George III of England. In the year 1520 an instrument maker, Herr Hans Menschel, in Nuremberg, made and perfected the slide trombone, which is considered the most perfect of the brass instruments. Pope Leo X was so fond of the trombone that his Holiness ordered two to be made of pure silver. Mozart was the first composer to use it in the orchestra. Since his time it has taken its place among the indispensable instruments. In Gilmore’s band there are three solo trombones and one bass” (Harper’s Weekly, 1889, Issue 9/28, p. 788).*