Bielefeld, Germany
Ernest David

Metal, copper
ca.  1893-1908
Length: 14 in, Bell diameter: 5.75 in
Wind Instruments – Brass Instruments – Alto Horns / Flugelhorns / Mellophones

Engraved on the bell:  Ernest David / Instramentenmacher / Bielefeld / circular logo

The Kuhlohorn is a small flugelhorn, which evolved from the keyed bugle.  It is traditionally in B flat and is played using a deep funnel-shaped mouthpiece.  Featured is its oval design with conical tubing, a wide bell, and a tuning slide at the second curved pipe section after the rotary valves.  

The kuhlohorn was named after Eduard Kuhlo, a German pastor who in 1843 founded the first ‘Posaunenchor’ (trombone ensemble) in Ravensberg, Germany, pioneering the liturgical use of brass instruments in Germany.  The first of these instruments were developed in collaboration with Ernst David, between 1893 and 1908.  Kuhlo preferred this flugelhorn-type instrument for his a cappella brass choirs, as he found it came closest to the sound of the human voice, after the trombone.  A slide tuba by Ernest David can also be found in this collection.

Resource: “The New Langwill Index: A Dictionary of Musical Wind Instrument Makers and Inventors,” William Waterhouse, 1993. Published by Tony Bingham. pp. 81, 218.