C. G. Conn C Melody Saxophone: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This saxophone was made by the C. G. Conn Ltd. in Elkhart, Indiana, around 1920. It a C-melody saxophone, serial #61640. It is tuned to the key of C, enabling the amateur player to play standard sheet music, without having to transpose in the keys of B-flat or E-flat, like most saxophones. The saxophone is engraved:

James E. Frew played this saxophone during the early 20th century. His family donated it to the museum in 1979 as an example of a unique C Melody saxophone available in early 20th century America.

This saxophone features U. S. Patent #1119954, dated December 8, 1914, by William S. Haynes for an improvement in musical wind instruments.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: ca 1920
• manufacturer: C. G. Conn Ltd.
• Object Name: saxophone
• Physical Description: brass (overall material)
• Physical Description: plastic (overall material)
• Measurements: saxophone: 22 in x 8 3/4 in x 5 1/8 in; 55.88 cm x 22.225 cm x 13.0175 cm
• Measurements: neck: 9 in x 3 1/4 in x 1 7/16 in; 22.86 cm x 8.255 cm x 3.65125 cm
• place made: United States: Illinois, Elkhart
• ID Number: 1979.0863.01
• catalog number: 1979.0863.01
• accession number: 1979.0863
• patent number: 1119954
• Credit Line: Gift of James E. Frew family
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.