A.K. Hüttl flourished in the Southeastern region of Germany from 1877 to 1945. The Hüttl factory was advertised as one fo the largest in Europe at the time with a workforce of over 200. Patents registered for Hüttl show that the firm was always experimenting and I suspect that this very large bore instrument was an experimental one.
Vince Simonetti, founder of the Museum, obtained this Hüttl tuba from a New England musical instrument dealer who told him that he had an old German tuba for sale. He asked him to measure the bell diameter, which he did. It was only 18 in., but he bought it sight unseen and was delighted to discover upon its arrival that it had such a huge valve bore. The Museum is pleased to have this very interesting instrument as part of the collection.
IMG_3150 by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/129235491@N05/]https://simonettitubacollection.com/ins ... ding-bell/
