Posted by Klaus on October 06, 2002 at 04:24:08:
Opening disclaimer: This is a long and uninteresting posting on brass history and differences between brass designs in Europe and in the US, so all of you junior-high readers of this board please stay away. And don't dare to complain afterwards, if you have defied this warning.
Just found a small series of online pictures. As they will expire soon, I uploaded them to an album accessible through the link given below.
The instrument obviously is a helicon. What at least in my eyes makes it interesting is the text of the makers shield:
Blechblasinstrumentenfabrik Schediwy - königlicher Hoflieferant - in Ludwigsburg (not my reading, but the one that followed the pics).
Schediwy is not a German name, it is a Czech one. Which can not surprise considering the role, that Cerveny played in the development of conical low brasses with rotary valves.
However the geographical placement of a Czech-named brass instruments factory in Ludwigsburg in the south west of Germany in the former kingdom of Wurttemberg, even as supplier to the royal court, that is historically interesting. And it tells of of quality transcending national biases.
The historical facts also make it possible to tell something about the age of the instrument. As the kingdom of Wurttemberg was dissolved in 1918, the helicon must be from before 1919.
The instrument is also interesting from a design point of view. We all know the wrap and air path of the standard US BBb sousaphone, which historically is claimed to be developed from the helicon.
Not so in this case.
The US BBb sousaphone for about 270 degrees has a double main circle of tubing with the air circulating the same way round, clockwise seen from the front.
This helicon, also in BBb, has a very narrow inner circle section running along the last branch before the bell. And if you follow the air path, you will see, that the air of that narrow circle section circles counter-clockwise.
This design concept does not leave much space for the player within the circle. That is one reason, why I will not buy this beauty, which is sold out of Ludwigsburg, the town where it was made. A second is the huge problems of transportation. And the third and deciding reason is, that I do not have the space for it. For now the price is very reasonable, less than the equivalent of US $ 700.
The seller will not ship out of Europe, but if some of you in the US are burning for this beauty and have military or business contacts in Europe, that would help you out, you can mail me for more specific information.
Klaus