Vintage Highams tuba

Highams · Post by **Highams** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 2:49 pm

Just undergoing cleaning and restoration a Highams of Manchester 3v
E flat tuba, circa 1893 for a pupil of mine.

Thought you might like to see the beautiful engraving that goes around the entire bell;

http://s91.photobucket.com/albums/k309/ ... ytuba2.jpg

CB

josh wagner · Post by **josh wagner** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 4:23 pm

wow!

windshieldbug · Post by **windshieldbug** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 4:28 pm

Quite a tuba tattoo!

Miss those old engravers. What an art!

Highams · Post by **Highams** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 5:19 pm

On top of that, it blows a dream too!

CB

Casey Tucker · Post by **Casey Tucker** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 5:42 pm

it's beautiful. hmmm, here's a tangent, does anyone know if the horn plays/resonates differently after engravers are done with it? like, after they remove that much metal. it may not be enough to make a difference though. still, looks great.

Bandmaster · Post by **Bandmaster** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 9:47 pm

That engraving is really nice.

Almost as nice as a tuba one of the tuba players at Long Beach State came up with back in 1977. He said a friend moved into an old house in Long Beach (CA) and found this old horn in the attic. The friend was about to nail it to the wall as a decoration when he begged his friend to spare its life. So his friend just gave the horn to him. It was an old Eb tuba. He cleaned it up brought it to school and and let us tuba players give it whirl. A bit stuffy because the valves leaked, but not bad.

This tuba had engravings covering the entire horn, and I mean everthing! There were scallups and curly-ques on the slides and the valve casings, inside the bell and on the branches. Plus there were four diamond shaped panels arranged around the bell flair and four different scenes of the skyline of London engraved in the panels. I remember one was of Buckingham Palace and one was Big Ben where you could read the time on the clock. Only the engravings were through the silver plating allowing the brass underneath to show through.

He eventually he took it to Larry Menic, L.A.'s top brass guy back then, and Larry joking said "So how much can I pay you to restore this horn?" He did some reseach and found out that it was one of two tubas built by a maker for a special exhibition in England in 1865 and had been lost to the world for some 50 or 60 years. Larry restored it but couldn't do the engravings with the brass showing through the silver, just too much to re-engrave he said. I heard it was a big hit when Roger Bobo saw it at Tuba Christmas the following year. A year or so later it was insured by Lloyds of London for $25,000 when he allowed it to be sent back to London to be displayed. I have not heard about this horn for many years now, so I sort of wonder where it is now.

The Big Ben · Post by **The Big Ben** » Sat Sep 01, 2007 12:39 am

Highams wrote:Just undergoing cleaning and restoration a Highams of Manchester 3v
E flat tuba, circa 1893 for a pupil of mine.

Thought you might like to see the beautiful engraving that goes around the entire bell;

http://s91.photobucket.com/albums/k309/ ... ytuba2.jpg

CB

Good stuff! Everyone should look through the entire photo album!

What's the six foot tall tuba?

Highams · Post by **Highams** » Sat Sep 01, 2007 2:36 am

Many thanks.

The big one is the part mock-up that was on the roof of the B&H Edgeware Factory for many years, now in the Horniman Museum (that has the entire factory collection) in South London;

http://www.horniman.ac.uk/collections/r ... CLE_ID=162

CB

Wyvern · Post by **Wyvern** » Sat Sep 01, 2007 3:26 am

Thanks for posting Charley! That is very impressive - a good engraving really adds to a tuba.

windshieldbug · Post by **windshieldbug** » Sat Sep 01, 2007 8:50 am

Great stuff!

I hope I'm not being disloyal, but I love the Enharmonic cornet, too!

oldbandnerd · Post by **oldbandnerd** » Sat Sep 01, 2007 9:18 am

Windshieldbug wrote :

I hope I'm not being disloyal, but I love the Enharmonic cornet, too!

No disloyalty taken ! Any brass is good brass . Well, except for maybe a Eb tenor horn .

Highams · Post by **Highams** » Sun Sep 02, 2007 11:01 am

Finished pics;

http://s91.photobucket.com/albums/k309/ ... ytuba6.jpg

CB

OldsRecording · Post by **OldsRecording** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 9:54 am

Highams wrote:Finished pics;
http://s91.photobucket.com/albums/k309/ ... ytuba6.jpg
CB

Wow- looks great! Although, could you imagine what The Talented Mr. Oberloh could do for that horn?

Highams · Post by **Highams** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 10:22 am

Yes indeed, it's a good job I live so far away (lol) I would be broke (but in dreamland).

CB

The Big Ben · Post by **The Big Ben** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 1:01 pm

Highams wrote:Yes indeed, it's a good job I live so far away (lol) I would be broke (but in dreamland).

CB

I think Herr Oberloh has about a three year back up in custom horn restorations so, if you start saving your pounds and pence, you might have it by the time he could get to it...

In the meantime, enjoy your horn- it is beautiful!

OldsRecording · Post by **OldsRecording** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 1:18 pm

Highams wrote:Yes indeed, it's a good job I live so far away (lol) I would be broke (but in dreamland).
CB

Ahh, yes. Wouldn't we all. Both of my horns could use a trip to the spa.

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Vintage Highams tuba

Vintage Highams tuba

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