A couple of days ago I noticed a really interesting sarrusophone on eBay. It was made by Boosey & Co., and was in quite remarkable shape. It still had its original bocal and case. Given that this horn was more than likely over 100 years old, I thought this was a remarkable treasure. (The bocal especially is astounding, because these are made of very thin metal, and tend to get bent and damaged very easily.)
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
The seller is a man/woman of few words, and describes this vintage beauty like this:
Very beautiful sarrusophone by Boosey # 20.### very good condition, with the original crook ,and original box……………
Although this horn’s voicing isn’t specified, I’m taking an educated guess here that this is an Eb contrabass.
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
I first noticed this lovely vintage sarrus on Thursday. It had a Buy It Now price of $7,500 on it, and the seller was running a 30 day auction. At the time there were 2 offers on the horn already, and it had just hit eBay an hour or so earlier.
On Friday I went back to check on the sarrus, and I was surprised to see that the horn had already sold. The seller had accepted an offer of $6,500. Someone just got themselves a lovely, rare, vintage horn for their collection. Are you wishing that it had been you? Was it you?
Hi Grant. Thanks for stopping dropping by.
You’re right. I should have compared the photos to those on your site, or to those on my own, of me with Quinn’s Eb contra. I don’t know where my head was—actually I do, I was thinking of my friend’s funeral I was going to later in the day, and thus a bit preoccupied. In any event, thank you for correcting my error. 😳
Also, this Boosey’s bocal is shaped quite differently than that of Quinn’s contra as well. I’m assuming that the bocal shape would be the same regardless of who the manufacturer was, just like the shape of saxophone necks is generally the same for the various voicings regardless of what company made them. (The C melody is the most obvious exception to that rule of course.) Unfortunately I can’t remember anymore who the manufacturer of Quinn’s sarrusophone was, but I don’t believe it was a Boosey.
Thanks for keeping me honest Grant. 😉 Stop in anytime and do it again if you need to. 😆
You can compare a bass and contra at http://www.contrabass.com/pages/sarrus.html
Actually, based on the proportions and the fact that the inner loop does not extend to the outer bow, I’d say it was either a bass or bari.
Nope. I’ve actually played one before and I don’t prefer the sound/voicing. I try not to buy expensive horns I won’t play on a regular basis.