Graves & Co. “Convertible” Instruments

Featured on this page are instruments that are “convertible” in that they came equipped in a way that they could be played in a military band with all of the bells opening backwards, over the shoulder as well as more conventionally with the bells front and upright. The Eb sopranos and Bb cornets had alternate bells for each and larger instruments had alternate mouthpipe crooks. Graves & Co. seemed to make a specialty of instruments that were convertible from bell over the shoulder to upright and front and most examples known were made by them. However, they weren’t the only makers to do so. Several from the Allen, Hall and Quinby shop are known including the Allen & Hall pictured below and another by D.C. Hall featured on its own page. The former resides in the National Museum of American History.

In the case of the Bb cornet pictured above, there is no evidence for the design of the alternate bell. There is not enough length in the bell section to curve all the way forward as in the Eb soprano in the first photo. I suspect that it curved upwards as seen in the Allen & Hall soprano in the third photo above. An Eb soprano, very similar to the Graves in the first photo is part of a set delivered to the Samuel Colt's Armory Band early in 1856, which now is part of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts collection.  The Bb cornets from that set aren't know to exist today, but there is an original photograph of one of Colt's musicians holding one with bell over the shoulder reproduced in Garofalo and Elrod's book on Civil War era instruments and bands.  

All of these Graves cornets mentioned so far have detachable bell sections and originally had alternate bells.  The altos, tenors, basses and contrabasses had circular (pigtail) crooks for playing over the shoulder and "L" shaped mouthpipes that allowed the bell to be upright.  A band fully equipped with these could participate in military tactics or parade during the day and with a quick switch of the bells or mouthpipes, they could perform for a formal dance the same evening.  

The next photo is an ambrotype taken in the 1850s of a musician holding a Fiske circular Bb cornet and a Graves 4 valve Bb bass that would have been very much like those made for the Colt Armory Band.  Notice that the form that could be played with the bell over the shoulder, but the "L" shaped mouthpipe is in place for playing the instrument with the bell upright. The photo to the right is a Graves & Co. Bb bass of the same design with the circular mouthpipe crook in place for playing with the bell over the shoulder.

One of the two earliest rotary valve instrument known to be made by Graves Bb bass, 1851, is shown in the gallery below. It has both original mouthpipes extant: one for playing over the shoulder and the other, upright. This remarkable five valve bass is very well preserved and one of the earliest US made rotary valve instruments extant. It resides in Steve Ward’s collection.

Of course Graves provided Eb (contrabass) tubas in the same form. One illustrated below has its circular crook for playing over the shoulder, but missing the “L” shaped crook for playing with the bell upright.

A very different idea for making an instrument with alternate bell positions was made by Franz G. Kaiser in Cincinnati, Ohio. The bell on this one of a kind Eb soprano cornet swivels a full 360 degrees, making it possible to play with bell front, upright or over the shoulder without needing to keep track of alternate assemblies. This unique instrument resides in the collection of Kevin Boles.