It’s always interesting to take a look back in time, and see how our instruments were written about back in the day. Clearly whoever wrote the following, was not a fan:
We don’t know a better way of becoming a finished saxophone player than prussic acid.
Source: Editorial Points, The Border Cities Star, March 7, 1930
Nice… Not so much…
For those of you, who like me, aren’t familiar with what prussic acid is, it is the historical common term for hydrogen cyanide.
Just how badly did the writer hate the Brown Brothers, and other saxophone acts of the 1920s? Just how badly did his neighbour play the saxophone?
If the writer’s neighbour sent away for a sax based on the following ad from 1924, I could see why the writer might be driven to dream of hydrogen cyanide. 😉
Source: ANTIQUE~GRAPHIQUE on eBay.com
Isn’t it good to know that we’re not a talented bunch, who don’t have to go through the drudgery of study? Hell, why do we even need to practice at all? Let’s just put the damn thing to our lips and blow! 
We don’t know a better way of becoming a finished saxophone player than prussic acid.
Getting back to what was written in The Border Cities Star, clearly this quote falls into the category of anti-sax backlash articles and comments that I mentioned this past March. Saxophones, while wildly popular in the 1920s, were not universally loved.
C’est la vie. We can’t always be the popular kids. But isn’t it nice to know that nearly 100 years later we’re still the most popular wind instrument going?
Too bad all these sax haters are dead. They can’t even see that their little rants were in vain. :rant:
It’s simply irresistible.