For your viewing pleasure....

[bisontuba]

Hi-
Today, I picked up at at a show a fantastic antique Civil War cased tintype of a Union Soldier with his Over The Shoulder (OTS) Eb ContraBass Saxhorn / Tuba--very clear and nice-- I shot it with my iPhone when I got back to my car--not the best of results-you can see the 'ghost' of the iPhone case, but still neat--thought you'd enjoy seeing the image!
Regards-
Mark

[Dan Schultz]

Great-great-grandpa??

[bisontuba]

Dan-
Wish I could say yes, but nope---somebody's great-great grandpa though....
Mark

[Euphtub]

Forgive me if this is obvious, but I've never seen anything liked this before. Does the bell point behind the player?

EDIT: I get it—Over the Shoulder…not On the Shoulder. My bad.

That is a really cool picture!

[The Big Ben]

FYI:

For those of you who like Civil War photography and might be in NYC this summer, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has an exhibit of Civil War photographs until September:

http://www.metmuseum.org/en/exhibitions ... -civil-war" target="_blank

Jeff "Washington wasn't a state until 1889" Benedict

[ScottM]

I played one of these once and it was really weird hearing the sound come out behind you. The original thought behind the design allegedly was if the band was in front of the troops it made it so they could hear the band. I don't know if that is the truth or a fable but it is what I was told. I am sure someone can either verify it or disprove it. The horn actually played pretty well.
ScottM

[eupher61]

the musicians were considered more expendable than the soldiers, similar to the Revolutionary War fife and drum bands. when the music stops, they know something is wrong.

[GC]

Very few bands rode in front of the infantry. They mostly marched.

I've played most of a concert on one of those things. I wasn't used to holding all that weight in front of me, and it was tiring and uncomfortable. It makes me appreciate the folks who play marching baritones and euphoniums more

[David Richoux]

I have a replica OTS 4 valve EEb tuba (made by Rob Stewart many years ago) - I agree it is awkward, difficult to play (can't hear the bell sound very well) and dangerous to use while marching in formation!

However, it looks great... I had to add a non-historic spit valve, BTW.

[iiipopes]

Can anybody tell the regiment from the sash and/or other insignia?