Pollter Tenor Valve Trombone: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This trombone was made by Otto Pollter in Leipzig, Germany, late 1890s. It is a tenor valve trombone made of brass and German silver. There are Decorative snakes on the end of slide. This trombone is engraved:

This trombone was previously owned and used by trombonist Edward A. Williams, who purchased this trombone in Leipzig in 1900. Williams was a member the Sousa Band, 1892-1917.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date made: late 1890s
• user: Williams, Edward A.
• referenced: Sousa, John Philip
• maker: Otto Pollter & Co.
• Object Name: trombone
• Physical Description: brass (overall material)
• Physical Description: german silver (overall material)
• Measurements: bell: 24 5/16 in x 10 7/8 in x 8 7/8 in; 61.75375 cm x 27.6225 cm x 22.5425 cm
• Measurements: mouthpiece: 3 1/2 in x 1 9/16 in; 8.89 cm x 3.96875 cm
• Measurements: slide: 37 1/2 in x 5 5/16 in x 7/8 in; 95.25 cm x 13.49375 cm x 2.2225 cm
• place made: Germany: Saxony, Leipzig
• ID Number: 1994.0273.01
• accession number: 1994.0273
• catalog number: 1994.0273.01
• Credit Line: Gift of Catherine W. and Jerome E. Henderson
• 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.