Courtois Eb • Anyone familiar with this model?

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hup_d_dup
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Courtois Eb • Anyone familiar with this model?

Post by hup_d_dup »

I needed a smallish tuba for an outdoor gig that requires some mobility, and was fortunate enough to find this Courtois Eb which more than meets my needs. I really don't know anything about this horn except it had to have been manufactured after 1900 (see engraving). There is no serial number. There are a couple of patches, the valve compression is not great but it isn't too bad either. The tuba accepts a small shank mountpiece (just a bit larger than a bass trombone mouthpiece). It plays rather nicely.

Can anyone supply some information on this model?

Thanks,
Hup
Courtois Eb tuba.jpg
Courtois Eb engraving.jpg
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Snake Charmer
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Re: Courtois Eb • Anyone familiar with this model?

Post by Snake Charmer »

Wonderful Horn! 1900-1925 seems appropriate for this style, later ones had a more "modern" look. Courtois was very inconsistent in engravings, they got also prices in Liége 1905, Bruxelles 1910, Turin 1911 and Genève 1927, but they did not write it on all instruments, so proper dating is very difficult. Even with a serial number it would not work, during the german occupation in WWII all records (if there were any) were destroyed. A small archive of some old workers disappeared while Gerhard Meinl owned the company some years ago.
The valve buttons on your horn seem to be newer, they look like 70s Couesnon (as far as I can see in the low resolution), the valve caps are original with the corks?
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Re: Courtois Eb • Anyone familiar with this model?

Post by windshieldbug »

There IS a serial number, just not where you'd expect.
It is likely under the third valve cap.
Coutrois serial number.jpg

You might need to check them all, in case they've been switched.
Courtois were ending this practice right around 1900 when your horn was built.
If you find it, let me know. Currently the latest one I've recorded is 16793.

Courtois seem to have been very inconsistent applying parts and awards to their horns, but if you go by date applied to American imports your horn would be 1900-1904.
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hup_d_dup
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Re: Courtois Eb • Anyone familiar with this model?

Post by hup_d_dup »

windshieldbug wrote:There IS a serial number, just not where you'd expect.
It is likely under the third valve cap.
Thanks to all for this great information, especially the tip about the valve cap. Unfortunately I cannot unscrew the bottom caps (the top caps and all slides move freely). However, at some point I will have the instrument serviced, and will ask to have the bottom caps loosened.

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hup_d_dup
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Re: Courtois Eb • Anyone familiar with this model?

Post by hup_d_dup »

Update: I had the horn serviced and the bottom caps were loosened. There is no serial number on any on the caps, but I didn't expect one as the tuba had to have been manufactured no earlier than 1900.

I observed something very interesting that I have never noticed before: the entire horn, from leadpipe to bell, seems to have been manufactured using sheet brass that had been cut, rolled, pinned and soldered into tubing. Was this common practice at the time? There is some minor crinkling on the inside of the smaller crooks and I wonder if the metal bent in an irregular way because the tube seams were positioned on the inside of the bends.

After 100 years of use, all caps thread beautifully, and are easy to position to screw on. How is it that some present day manufacturers have not figured out how to do this?

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Re: Courtois Eb • Anyone familiar with this model?

Post by Donn »

Maybe the cap threading gets easier in the 2nd century of use, as things wear together? It's sure not so good on my most recently made tuba.
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