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According to an article from the Houston Chronicle website, chron.com, a Katrina evacuee from New Orleans had his minivan stolen from the parking lot of the Red Cross office on Airport Blvd in Houston. Inside his minivan was the one horn that he took with him when he evacuated before the storm.

The unique horn is a solid brass Cerveny sousaphone with four rotary valves. It was made sometime in the 1890s, Francis said. The horn is packed in a soft, black case. He bought the horn from an Austin instrument dealer who visits New Orleans each year for "carnival season."

You can read the whole sad story here.

Must be a helicon, if it's from the 1890's.

Not to diminish the poor fellow's loss, but how does a modern Cerveny helicon differ in construction from one made 100 years ago? To a casual view, it doesn't seem as if construction has changed much at all.

Hey Guys,

I'm the guy he bought the horn from. I'm hardly a dealer, but I do march Mardi Gras with bands, if I'm lucky. I was playing a polka dance in Houston last night and Emile came out and visited me.

This is one of the saddest stories I've heard from the whole Katrina mess. No, it's not a Helicon, as you can see the pictures. I showed these photos to the Cerveny folks in CZ, and they tell me they had never heard on any sousaphone, much less ever see one. Modern horns are constructed of much lesser quality metals, and in my opinion sound terrible.

This is a VERY rare and unique horn, so if you see one, it's Francis's:






You see it, you call me. (512)659-8952 and I'll come get it and drive to Francis wherever he ends up. He's sitting in a hotel room near the Houston airport right now, not having any idea what to do next. He has no car now, and no tool for his livelyhood. We was planning on meeting up with his family who is waiting for him in Florida, but now he's thinking about staying in Houston, hoping that they find his beloved horn.

PLEASE get the word out so we can help one of our brothers out.

Respectfully,

Mark Rubin
Austin TX
www.markrubin.com

Another picture:

Stealing from a Katrina refugee, and a musician at that! That dude should be strung up by his testicles and be forced to listen to classical music, jazz, and show tunes. A person of such low standing is obviously not a devotee of the arts and would consider listening to such music as torture.

Clearly Cerveny made sousaphones at some point. There's even one for sale on that auction site right now, although it's located in Germany. The question is the age. The first sousaphone ever made was made by J. W. Pepper in 1893, so if it's from the 1890s, it would have to be from the late 1890s, and that seems pretty quick for Cerveny to start making them.

It's more likely that it's an early 20th century horn, but still is old, rare, and very difficult to replace. I hope it is found.

Mark,

We'll keep our eyes peeled for it. It'll be pretty hard to hide something like that!

Lew wrote:Clearly Cerveny made sousaphones at some point. There's even one for sale on that auction site right now, although it's located in Germany. The question is the age. The first sousaphone ever made was made by J. W. Pepper in 1893, so if it's from the 1890s, it would have to be from the late 1890s, and that seems pretty quick for Cerveny to start making them.

It's more likely that it's an early 20th century horn, but still is old, rare, and very difficult to replace. I hope it is found.

The German auction is about an Eb post WWI 4RV sousa:

http://tinyurl.com/d54o8

If the owners could remember, whether the maker’s shield has a German or a Czech text, that will narrow down the dating options.

Alone the shipping costs will make it impossible for me to offer to loan out one of my BBb basses, but if there is a spare sousa or tuba sitting dusty in the back of a band storage room somewhere in the deep south, then it might offer a potential bridge for our friend to re-enter his trade.

Klaus

If the owners could remember, whether the maker’s shield has a German or a Czech text, that will narrow down the dating options.

It was oval, said "Kraslice" rather than "Konigsgrad" and was in Czech. I'd have reckoned late 20's-early 30's. The folks at the Cerveny shop in Prauge at first denied ever having made one, but Mr. Prem in Kraslice did email me later to say that they may have made sousa before WW2, but those records were long gone.

Maybe someone in Houston could loan this fellow a horn? I personally will vouch for him.

As with so many other owners of interesting brass instruments I also have been in private correspondence with Mark Rubin. I'm no computer wizzard and have lost a lot of my source material.

However I took a look at the Cerveny rotary sousaphones represented in my brass galleries. It happens to be so, that the stolen sousa was entered in my galleries in November of 2002.

I don't always know about the serial numbers of the portrayed instruments, but for some reason I have noted it in this case, probably on basis of information from Mark.

The serial # is 37521.

If this information will be of any help for our bereft instrument colleague, I will ask, that USAsian board members take action towards the police and pawn shop scenarios. I know how to do so in my own country, but I can't act over a distance of thousands of miles.

You will find an 8-photos documentation of stolen instrument at

http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/yo ... e+pre-WWII

Depending on your browser you will have to enter this gallery group via

http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/Yo ... PhotosVII/

If you are met with an error message, then go back to the original link above here.

Klaus

Possibly good news.

The van with the horn and everything else may have in fact been recovered.

Details as soon as I have them.

GREAT NEWS


From: Emile Francis <sir_knight_80@yahoo.com>
Subject: end of a chapter
Date: Mon, 19 Sep 2005 18:39:43

OK, guys. Ed's van and my horn were recovered. The van suffered the typical damage inflicted by punks on a joy ride. There's a big dent on the front fender and some damage to the driver's side rear wheel. The steering column is torn apart from the theft.

The Czar is no worse for the wear. They rifled through the case looking for money, but didn't break anything. They went through every envelope, etc. and trashed a few CD's.

Pat, please tell Mark that The Czar is safe and sound.

As soon as that van is repaired, I am out of Houston.

EJF

WOO-HOO!!!

Happy News:

From the Houston Chronicle

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mp ... an/3362694

Emile wants you all to know how much he appreciates ya'lls concern for his horn and his well being.

Thanks again!

Mark

Aside from the writer getting the date 30-40 years off on the sousaphone

From the Houston Chronicle wrote: Although Hurricane Katrina flooded his longtime family home in central New Orleans, ruining his father's piano, a concert upright tuba named "Matilda" that Francis inherited from his uncle,

How exactly do a house flooding ruin a tuiba?

It'll need a good cleaning and new felt/cork, but other than that even a week under water should have no effect on a hunk of brass.

Now, if the house colapsed on top of it, it might not be readily repairable.

ThomasDodd wrote:Aside from the writer getting the date 30-40 years off on the sousaphone

From the Houston Chronicle wrote: Although Hurricane Katrina flooded his longtime family home in

How exactly do a house flooding ruin a tuiba?

It'll need a good cleaning and new felt/cork, but other than that even a week under water should have no effect on a hunk of brass.

Its the 2 feet of toxic sludge that it's been sitting for 3 weeks that will be intersting to see what it does to it.

markrubin wrote:

ThomasDodd wrote: How exactly do a house flooding ruin a tuiba?

It'll need a good cleaning and new felt/cork, but other than that even a week under water should have no effect on a hunk of brass.

Its the 2 feet of toxic sludge that it's been sitting for 3 weeks that will be intersting to see what it does to it.

It will be interesting, but I expect most brass instruments to be salvagable.
Brass is a fairly non-reactive metal, one of the reason it's used.

Any repair guys have any thoughts?