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"Orchestral Wind Instruments, Ancient and Modern"
--Being an account of the origin and evolution of wind instruments from the earliest to the most recent times--

You can download either the text or a photocopy of this book by Ulric Daubeny from
http://www.archive.org/details/orchestr ... 00daubuoft
(hint: the .pdf version takes quite a while)

Or maybe not, since he says

"The tuba is usually used in conjunction with three trombones,
to which it makes an unsatisfactory contra-bass, for the tone does
not blend well, and it is besides prone to become too powerful."

Obviously not one of the cognoscenti.
He does mention an instrument I hadn't heard of before, the serpentcleide.

I guess this can be another excuse to throw (figuratively, but maybe literally) at those mean conductors.

The serpentcleide, to onlookers' astonished horror, was shot from atop the Empire State Building by a squadron of biplanes, after it had been lured there by an easily-achievable and in-tune low C.

windshieldbug wrote:The serpentcleide, to onlookers' astonished horror, was shot from atop the Empire State Building by a squadron of biplanes, after it had been lured there by an easily-achievable and in-tune low C.

What an ophil way to go ...

It is good to see the serpent get lured instead of doing the lureing for a change.

The tubas permit of great gradations of tone, varying from pianissimo to fortissimo, from grave solemnity to joyful brilliance, but always mellow, rotund and dignified.

That extract from the book sounds a bit more complimentary!