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Yesterday when visiting Dillon's Music, I was helping a friend pick out a small BBb tuba that he will be able to manage from his electric wheelchair. As always, Matt was extremely helpful and took the time to work out logistical problems for a guy who is wheelchair-bound.
I rummaged through the used tuba room and found what I first thought must be an Eb tuba, raw brass, short, but not terribly beat-up. Turns out, it was BBb and it played beautifully! The scale was great, there were no dead notes commonly found in 100 year old tubas, and it sounded terrific for such a small horn. It even took my American shank blokepiece very nicely.
Has anyone ever heard of Hug et Cie? It was well-stamped on the bell and also said it was made for the army. Matt estimated it was made around the First World War.

The "et Cie" is abbreviated French for "and company." Some googling yielded that Hug and Company is a Swiss music publisher.

http://www.hug-musikverlage.ch/

You might contact them for further info.

Maybe they stamped/manufactured some instruments much in the vein of Carl Fischer or Boosey & Hawkes? Although the site is in German, it would make sense that the engraving is in French, as French is another official language of Switzerland. Of course, I'm no expert.

Don't know if the store is still there, but back in 1965 there was a big "Hug" music store on the main drag in Zurich. They had a huge inventory of junk instruments as well as new ones. The guy there said there was an annual festival for which everyone bought horns, and then everyone would return them afterward for refunds.
Many of the instruments, including tubas, had the "Hug et Cie" brand name. They even let me pick up a bass trombone mouthpiece in one room and try it with an alphorn in another room.