TubaForum.net

Hi all,

I run a recycling business in Rhode Island and i just came across this old Tuba. The only info I can find online is that the business is from the 1800's and closed after the founder's wife died in the early 1900s. I have come across other cool pieces and i am always excited to learn more about the history.

Please feel free to share any info you have. I'd love to know if this item is particularly unique or rare or if it's just a run of the mill reproduction. It's in fairly good shape considering the time period and the fact it came in through the junk. Let me know if you need more pix.

markings:
Artist
E. Seltmann
Phila. PA
6128

I am eager to hear from everyone!
Thank you!
tubaJosh

- baritone horn, not a tuba

- Seltmann was likely the importer (or distributor), not the manufacturer

- possibly made by a French manufacturer, maybe Dupont or Tourville, and by the looks of the large ferrules (engraved) it was what would be called an “artist model”. They were sold mail order by Sears & Roebuck through their catalog around the turn of the 20th century. There’s a chance it might be a Keefer (made in Williamsport PA), but I’m not so sure about that (Keefer horns came from the factory with fancy decorated inlays on the valve buttons, but they could have been replaced in the past 100+ years). They used similar bracing and ferrules, early on

- bell is in very rough shape; tears in the bell rim, etc.

- this doesn’t even take into account the condition of the valves, which we don’t know

- scrap yellow brass is selling for about $2 per pound at present, might be worth a little more for parts, depending on who the manufacturer is

It would be a shame not to try and restore that to playable condition. It looks remarkably dent free except for the bell! Seems like the bell could be rolled out and the cracks patched or soldered. Seems like it would be worth more than the $20 or so it would bring as scrap. Putting it on an auction site with no reserve would show its true worth, what someone is willing to actually pay. Sometimes a restaurant or bar will buy something like that not caring if it plays or not, because they just hang it on the wall as “decor”.

A little internet digging finds that the horn you found in the trash is the exact SAME instrument (according to the serial number) pictured on this website:

https://www.brasshistory.net/Seltmann%20History.pdf

Quite a coincidence!

.

Those braces are awesome! The curved pieces and the engraved brace feet are just cool.