Adolphe Sax Originals (Updated July 12th)

The other day Steve Goodson posted a really great link on the Bass Sax Co-op. It was to the National Music Museum on the campus of the University of South Dakota. As part of their collection, they have original saxophones made by both Adolphe Antoine-Joseph Sax (Father) and Adolphe Edouard Sax (Son).

The senior Adolphe, was the inventor of the saxophone, and after his death, his son, also named Adolphe, took over the business. The factory was then eventually sold to the Henri Selmer Company, which of course is still in operation today.

The National Music Museum lists 11 original Sax, saxophones in their collection including: 4 sopranos, 2 altos, 2 tenors, 2 baritones, & 1 bass. However, they state on their website that they have 10 original Sax, saxophones, so I’m a little unclear exactly why the discrepancy. (In June ’08 they updated part of their website, so perhaps other parts weren’t updated.)  

I received a comment yesterday from Dr. Margaret Downie Banks, Senior Curator of Musical Instruments, National Music Museum. She was kind enough to clear up the discrepancy for me. The National Music Museum does indeed have 11 Sax saxophones in its collection. Ten were built built by Adolphe, the Father, and the other one by Adolphe Edouard, his son. Thanks again to Dr. Margaret Downie Banks for taking the time to write and clarify the numbers. 

All images from the National Music Museum, The University of South Dakota, Vermillion.

Adolphe Sax soprano sax circa 1868.

Adolphe Sax alto sax circa 1860.

 

Adolphe Sax tenor sax circa 1872.

 

Adolphe Sax baritone sax circa 1858.

Adolphe Sax bass sax circa 1877.

An Adolphe Sax original quartet featuring a: soprano circa 1858, alto circa 1857, tenor circa 1861-1862, & baritone circa 1858. 

I’m really excited to see the saxophone’s early history kept alive through this museum. I think as musicians, while we are often not in a position to be donors to such institutions, need to find ways to promote and support them. They play an invaluable role in keeping the history of our craft alive. I have done numerous shows for galleries and museums. That’s a tangible way I can give.

When I lived in Germany, I went to the Musikinstrumenten-Museum in Berlin. They too have Adolphe Sax original saxophones, but at the time, didn’t have nearly the collection that the National Music Museum has. (They also had some very nice sarrusophones, but I digress…)

I think as North Americans, we have a rather short view of history…mainly because as a culture, ours is so short. I believe this may be even more so here on the West Coast than back East. We see it all around us in the way we live our lives. Buildings are torn down and imploded all the time to make room for new developments. Things are not built to last: they are built to break down and be thrown away, and to be purchased new again so the cycle can repeat itself. That’s what drives our economy, the purchase of new consumer goods.

In all that spending, and all that excess, we have to get rid of “the old stuff”. Unfortunately, some of what we chose to get rid of, sometimes, just sometimes, is an invaluable piece of history. 

But on the other hand, sometimes what we chose to keep, is a worthless piece of junk, that really ought to be recycled into another lamp. You know what I mean. We’ve all seen the ads on eBay that read something like this (and usually always in capital letters because we have to be yelled at to get the point I guess): RARE, ONE OF A KIND, VINTAGE, ACME SAXOPHONE. JUST LIKE WYLIE E. COYOTE USED AGAINST THE ROADRUNNER. FELL OF THE BACK OF THE PICK UP. BUT IT’S OK NOW!!! BUY IT NOW PRICE ONLY $2500!!!!

But seriously, I think as sax players we have a real stake in what the future remembers of the first 200 years of saxophone history. Just like the music museums around the world that have saxophones in them which will display the evolution of the hardware of our art form/trade, our work as musicians becomes a working history that is passed on.

Like recordings from the past are listened to today, recordings from today will be listened to in the future. New technologies allow for greater accessibility of both the actual recording and playback of music. Combined together with the ability to digitally capture both images and sound together, the landscape of what future generations might be able to see and hear of the later half of the 2nd century of saxophone history is very interesting indeed…Provided of course that future technologies are backwards compatible…Where’s Gene Roddenberry’s crystal ball when you need it  ❓