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Recently it was sould an odd instrument on ebay - a Baritone shaped as a sousaphone
The brand - Harry B. Jay Columbia - was probably made in the late twenties.
Do anyone know where or who used such instruments?
Children?
Roger

I believe the HB Jay company was a stencil company. There is an Eb in the basement of my undergrad that sleeps peacefully, because, well, just because. Neatness factor: A+. Practicality factor: F.

I have a sousaphone that size, except in BBb and stenciled "Chris Kratt". Apparently they were made for children, but I can't imagine any child being able to play a .560 bore BBb sousaphone. You don't know what 'stuffy' means until you try this thing.

-Eric

I played an Italian version at a San Jose Tubafest Xmas one year - it belonged to a friend. Horrible intonation, stuffy, awkward, but it looked cool!

However, a proper, well made historical Helicon Bb would be of interest - I have seen & heard a few over the years and they sounded OK. An Eb Alto Helicon would be a good horn to have as well.

I've seen vintage postcards of 'midget' bands, with sousaphones scaled to little person size.
Roger, too bad that eBay seller didn't allow bids outside of the US - you could've bought his mini-sousaphone and kept it inside the bell of your Conn Jumbo, bringing it out during your demonstration!

My pit orchestra was rehearsing in the bandroom of a middle school in nearby Piedmont CA. High up on a shelf there was a little Bb sousaphone covered with dust. Apparently it hadn't been used in years, probably for good reason. LOL

Looks pretty much the same as this one that I sold recently:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... K:MESOX:IT" target="_blank

It actually played pretty well. It is basically a baritone/euphonium in sousaphone shape. When I bought it I was told that it was used in a "midget band," but could find no documentation to support that. I imagine it might have been someones idea of how to make it easier to march with a baritone. I had heard of several others of these made by Buescher and was even sent a photo of one at one time, but I suspect that not very many were made or sold. I used it for a couple of Tuba Christmases and it was certainly a conversation starter.

http://www.google.com/patents?id=TXdWAAAAEBAJ&pg

http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPAT856642

iiipopes wrote:I believe the HB Jay company was a stencil company......

I've seen several Harry B Jay instruments and current have a euphonium in my 'stable'. Information about the company is pretty 'sketchy' but I've pretty much come to my own conclusion that this was a legitimate manufacturer rather than a music store who bought complete horns and had their name engraved onto them.

There are several pieces of information on The Web about Harry B Jay... including the story about how Louis Armstrong's early cornet was a HB Jay.

Someone needs to put together some research about the company.