This isn't decisive though: maybe they made this one as a special order or something. While I don't know for sure, the instrument was pretty much extinct by then. I think this is unlikely for many reasons: I doubt that Couesnon was still making ophicleides at that late date. From design properties, I guess they were both made between 19 or so.Ĭonsidering the possibility that the horn with '25 on the bell really does date from 1925. I've seen two Cuesnon ophicleides that call this dating system into question: the one that is evidently older has '25' in the pineapple, while the newer one has '19.'īoth would seem to date after 1860 or so, since they both have saxaphone style rods instead of teeter-totter keys, so a date of 1825 is not plausible for either horn.
