| A tuba of the music corps of the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
C.A. Wunderlich, Siebenbrunn Vogtl., stamped 44. Engraved at the bell: Musikkorps der Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler.
C.A. Wunderlich is one of the most important wholesale companies for musical instruments. Being the only music corps of SS and Wehrmacht, the LSSAH consisted of 72 musicians instead of the usual 36 till 1945. Only three of them played tuba. Extremely rare.
Bell: 16.5in
Height: 44in
Wunderlich, C. A., WWI, BI fl Siebenbrunn 1854-c1945.
Established in 1854, according to advertisement; according to Ernst, established by Carl August Wunderlich ( b 1882-d1959); the family had long been active locally as SI, guitar makers; 1909 advertised as factory for BI and strings, dealers in all MIs; 1934 advertised Herstellung in Heinmarbeit (home-worker production) and assured their customers that its products were not mediocre machine-made instruments, but rather they were hand-made by local artisans, although their names were never stated. A very large firm of MI makers/dealers, offering by catalogue WWIs, BIs, PIs, SIs;
Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler Musikkorps History
Formed in 1933, and beloved of the Third Reichs Propaganda Newsreels, the legendary military band of Adolf Hitlers Bodyguard Division, the Leibstandarte-SS, was to become the most famous of all Military Musikkorps in the entire history of Nazi Germany..!
In their striking black ceremonial uniforms and under the strict musical leadership of Hermann Muller-John and his professional deputy SS-Hauptscharführer Gustav Weissenborn, (whose military life & war as an SS-Musikmeister is documented in Brian Matthews book, The Military Music & Bandsmen of Adolf Hitlers Third Reich 1933-45), top quality military music was performed at the very highest level by this much favoured unit and performances by the superb musicians recruited to this elite band were very much in demand right across the Reich and also beyond, courtesy of a number of highly publicised and successful concert tours the band made across pre-war Europe!
The Musikkorps was formed on 4/8/1933, 36 musicians under command of SS-Hauptsturmführer Hermann Muller-John ( born 4/8/1894; died 8/5/1945). In 1934 the orchestra was expanded to 72 men, selected on musical, health and racial qualifications. In the end the korps had a Sollstarke of 108 Musiker, but actual strength was 96 men.
|
