Untitled Document
     
Advertisement Click to advertise with us!
     

Prettiest Sax of the Moment

Keilwerth-made Triumpf. Yes, it could be a really nice-looking Keilwerth copy, but I doubt it. Compare the engraving to this Super DES horn.

According to the original eBay ad for the Triumpf, the engraving is called "Die Frauengestalt" by a "Herr Reichelt." I tried to Google that, but I get too many results on that in German ....

Sorry I didn't reply to you when you wrote about this horn last month. Oh wait, it was this month... Oh wait... It was only 4 days ago... I suddenly don't feel so bad... I thought I lost a month out of my life here...

I tried to find some reference to "Herr Reichelt" & engraving, and came up with nothing. (BTW, "Frauengestalt" just means female character.) Then I tried the Google.de and came up with this thread on the German saxophone forum: (last post in thread)

Hallo Tomka,

dein Sax kommt sehr wahrscheinlich aus dem Musikwinkel
und somit müßtest Du eine Menge Detailfotos einstellen damit wir vergleichen können,
ob der Hersteller Kohlert, Köhler ,Adler,2x Hüller, Werner Roth, Keilwert oder sonst wer war.
CA Wunderlich wars nicht , der hat nicht hergestellt sondern war Grosshändler und hatte nur seinen Namen drauf.
Aber Du hast da ein Sax was Fritz Reichel graviert hat.
Er war der " Jason du Mars" des Vogtlandes, wenn man so will,
und hat für alle Hersteller graviert.
Mit seiner nackten Frau mit Weltkugel und oder Wasserfall ist er sehr berühmt geworden, die Gravour hieß zu seiner Zeit :
" Die Frauengestalt"



MfG Benno

So the upshot of this is that the Fritz Reichel (note the spelling, eBay seller got it wrong) apparently was the "Jason Du Mars" of the Musikwinkel, and engraved for all the manufacturers in the region. Thus his engraving can be found on any of the horns produced in the region. This female figure with the globe was supposedly what made him famous and was known during his time as: the female figure.

Obviously one would have to do a bit more research to confirm all this, but this will give you a place to start.
 
1935ish Kohlert "Professional" Model. Satin gold with burnished gold highlights. Additional pearl keytouches.


Kohlert.jpg

There are a lot of really pretty and interesting horns on that website.
 
The Loomis C -- which took awhile to verify that it was a C instrument -- is definitely an interesting instrument. One of these days, I should compare one to a full Leblanc Rationale system horn. That'd be fun!
 
... Fritz Reichel (note the spelling, eBay seller got it wrong) apparently was the "Jason Du Mars" of the Musikwinkel, and engraved for all the manufacturers in the region. Thus his engraving can be found on any of the horns produced in the region. This female figure with the globe was supposedly what made him famous and was known during his time as: the female figure.

Obviously one would have to do a bit more research to confirm all this, but this will give you a place to start.
So, I did some checking.

According to this thread -- which is interesting reading in and of itself, as it attempts to explain the initialisms and acronyms Germanic instrument manufacturers used -- Fritz Reichel made the "company stamp" for ALPIMA in 1945. So, we know a guy with that name existed. Right after I stumbled on that, I found a genealogy page for Fritz Reichel, 1882-1945. Might not be the same guy, but he was from about the same place and the 1945 year fits with the ALPIMA comment.
 
This one is actually just a banner at a concert hall, but it looks like a really unique alto. Take a look at those keyguards and bell to bow connection. Has a G# trill too (that was hidden behind something). I apologize for the low image quality. These were taken on a whim before a show. Familiar design to anybody?
IMG_20150503_132637.jpgIMG_20150503_132903.jpg
 
It's very close to the Keilwerth Imperial that Helen blogged about. It's not an exact match.

All of the other horns I know that have eyebrow keyguards really have a unibrow: one bit of wire for both bell keys. One for each key, as per your pic, is a definite exception. It sorta makes me wonder if the horn's a Hammerschmidt that lost its plastic keyguard. Hammerschmidt definitely did engrave the bell-to-bow "ring." Alternately, I'd like to say it's a GH Huller model I haven't seen. Those are a lot more common than Hammerschmidts or the Keilwerth Imperial.
 
This one is actually just a banner at a concert hall, but it looks like a really unique alto. Take a look at those keyguards and bell to bow connection. Has a G# trill too (that was hidden behind something). I apologize for the low image quality. These were taken on a whim before a show. Familiar design to anybody?
View attachment 2434View attachment 2435

Not at all. Fascinating... Another eyebrow horn to keep an eye out for...

It's very close to the Keilwerth Imperial that Helen blogged about. It's not an exact match.

Good eye Pete. Like you said, close, but no cigar. ;)

All of the other horns I know that have eyebrow keyguards really have a unibrow: one bit of wire for both bell keys. One for each key, as per your pic, is a definite exception. It sorta makes me wonder if the horn's a Hammerschmidt that lost its plastic keyguard. Hammerschmidt definitely did engrave the bell-to-bow "ring."

Hammerschmidt also had a model with a unibrow, but alas... no match...

Alternately, I'd like to say it's a GH Huller model I haven't seen. Those are a lot more common than Hammerschmidts or the Keilwerth Imperial.

I'm leaning against that line of thinking. Here's why... All the unibrow G.H. Hüller (altos and tenors) that I have seen come from around the mid 40XXX serial # range, and look like the inserted pic I have included. Note a true unibrow, and no engraved bell to bow connecting ring.

Lower Portion Front & Lower Right Side Views.JPG

It also doesn't fit with that über rare Weltklang you found Pete, that had the unibrow...
 
It also doesn't fit with that über rare Weltklang you found Pete, that had the unibrow...
Yup. I did some in-depth checking. The easy ones to eliminate were the HN White Voll-True II, Zephyr, or later. Not Max Keilwerth/Hohner, not Werner Roth, etc. I suppose there's a possibility of it being a Hess: the only "eyebrow" model of Hess I've seen is just the line drawing from the catalog on your website, Helen, and the keyguards aren't very clear.

Regarding the Hammerschmidt you linked to, it's similar to, but not the same as the Josef Hammerschmidt horn I really like the looks of. I'd say that the horn on your website's not a eyebrow, but glasses.
 
Subtitle: why I love ebay.de. This was on the first page of their saxophone listings. It's auction 321743814375.

$_57 (12).JPG

The seller describes this as a "1938 Buffet-Powell model." It's not. The official Buffet serial numbers stop at 29424 for January 1927. Records after this were destroyed. This horn is sn 32447. Looking at the chart, Buffet was producing 500 to 1000 saxophones a year before 1927, so, if you extend out the serial numbers based on that, you're looking at early 1930s. Secondly, it's not a Buffet-Powell because a) it's not engraved Buffet-Powell and b) it doesn't look like a Buffet-Powell model. (The B-P horn was patented. It had a lot of interesting keywork and mechanisms, so it's pretty easy to pick one out.) However, I can't say I've seen another Buffet that looks like this one. I love the keyguard. I'm thinking that the mechanism between the :TrebleClef::Space1: and :TrebleClef::Line1: is probably something for a forked Eb fingering; I don't see another Eb vent. (Y'all can correct me if I'm wrong.) Interesting bell-to-body brace, too.
 
Such interesting horns... but no match. Non-unibrow. I still love that bell-to-bow ring. Too cool.
I'm thinking that the mechanism between the :TrebleClef::Space1: and :TrebleClef::Line1: is probably something for a forked Eb fingering

It looks like there is an arm coming off of each of the two pad cups that link to the small/aux F key (key above F key... whatever...). A bar can be seen running down near the D key as well and seems to be touching a secondary key arm for the D key. Maybe they thought it would save space not having it "behind" the RH keys as most other saxes do.
 
Also it'd be great to find out the year of manufacture for that Buffet. Has some unique features.... LH pinky keys with the pivot point on the inside like modern horns. I thought Selmer came up with that idea for the 1936 Balanced Action. The keyguards are also removable.
 
You're never going to get an exact date. "Early 1930s" is my best guess.

I wrote an article on my blog awhile ago called, "One Day, in 1952 ...." It's an article that compares some of the horns in 1952. I chose that specific year because you had the most of the best saxophones produced by US companies at that time: the Buescher 400 "Top Hat," the Martin Committee "III," the HN White King Super 20 with full pearls, and the Conn 28M. I should probably do a couple other features like that.
 
Martin Reiner (lots of pics)

I think I've done this once or twice. This is a manufacturer I hadn't heard of until recently AND this is a stunningly beautiful horn. I think the "pearls" and rollers are probably new, but I like their look.

According to Google Translate, "Sonderklasse" means "Top Grade." It looks it.

IMG_9174.jpg
 
I definitely agree, Chris.

I mention elsewhere about the CW Moritz horn they have. It's also a really nice looking horn and I like their little history blurb, but it's actually a Kohlert Modell 1926 stencil. Well, you do kinda need a program to tell the Germanic horns apart.
 
Back
Top Bottom