I also added the image to the Ophicleide History and Images post, which I continue to update from time to time.

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c. 1830—Vienna, Austria: K.k. Österreichischer Militair Leichen-Conduct, lithograph no. 8 from a series edited by Michael Tretsentsky, shows a military band that includes trombones with both traditional and rear-facing bells (see below image–click image for larger version; public domain) (Pirker).

c. 1850—Russia: Symphony Concert in Russia, a lithograph by R. Babajev, includes a depiction of a trombonist performing in an orchestra. A violinist conducts the group with his bow (see facing image; public domain) (Schwab 80).

Augsburg, 1493, from Schedelsche Weltchronik

Augsburg, second only to Trier among Germany’s oldest cities, has been the site of considerable trombone activity since the trombone’s beginnings in the 15th century. A painting of the Augsburg Cathedral that I recently added to the Trombone History Timeline (17th century, 1st half) spurred me to put together this post. This fairly specialized post illustrates, on a small scale, some noteworthy trends in the early history of the trombone. Notice, for example, early trombone activities and images related to the civic wind band/alta capella, dance music, and sacred music. Many of the sources are from Keith Polk, who has done extensive research on early trombone history in Germany. As usual, full citations for the sources can be found in the Trombone History Bibliography.

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1447—Augsburg, Germany: Trombone is mentioned as part of a civic wind band (Polk, German 112).

1460s—Augsburg, Germany: The city is temporarily without a trombonist for their civic wind band, but continues to hire a trombonist “for especially important dances” (Polk, German 118).

1477—Augsburg, Germany: Augustein Schubinger begins his career as a trombonist, although he is also recognized as a player of lute and cornett during various stages of his career (Polk, Voices and Instruments).

1482—Augsburg, Germany: Ulrich Schubinger, Jr., begins his career as a trombonist. A versatile musician like many of his day, he is later described as a player of “Geigen, pusaunen, lawten, und andern instrumenten” (Polk, Voices and Instruments).

1488—Augsburg, Germany: Renowned trombonist Augustein Schubinger is termed a trumeter in his own home town, highlighting the continuing ambiguity in terminology between trombone and trumpet (Polk, The Trombone).

1509—Augsburg, Germany: A musician by the name of Caspar Egkern serves as trombonist. He later becomes a member of the viol ensemble of Maximilian I (Polk, German 71).

1591—Augsburg, Germany: A woodcut on the title page of Adam Gumpelzhaimer’s Neue Teutsche Geistliche Lieder (re-used for at least one subsequent work) includes a depiction of a female trombonist as part of an apparently all-female ensemble (see below detail; public domain) (Naylor 221; Kinsky 85).

1592-9—Germany: An anonymous painting from the Album of Hieremias Buroner of Augsburg depicts a consort consisting of trombone, 2 singers, positive organ, cornett, bass viol, violin, and lute (see below image; public domain) (Remnant, Musical Instruments of the West 202; London, British Library).

c. 1600—Augsburg, Germany: An oil painting by Abraham Schelhas titled Augsburger Geschlechtertanz depicts an aristocratic dance in Augsburg. The 4 wind musicians providing the music play from a balcony and include a trombonist; the other instruments appear to be cornettos or shawms (see below detail and full image; public domain) (Augsburg, Städtische Kunstsammlung; Salmen, Tanz im 17 151).

c. 1616—Augsburg, Germany: A painting by Thomas Maurer, The Diocesan Synod of 1610 in the Cathedral of Augsburg, includes what may be two trombones situated on opposite sides of the group of musicians, with only the rather long rear bend of the instruments visible (see below detail and full image; public domain) (Chevalley 142; painting housed in choir sancrisy of Augsburg Cathedral; photo by Eberhard Lantz).

c. 1720—Augsburg, Germany: An engraving by Martin Engelbrecht titled Trompeten, Paucken, Posaunen depicts men playing trumpet and kettledrums, with a trombone on a nearby table. The text below the picture says, “Here one demonstrates music for devotion, pleasure and dancing for various types of musical instruments…Music about men and horses can only be satisfied by fighting. Trumpets, timpani, muskets, Barthaune! They make the right sound together. On the other hand, zinken and trombones [posaunen] are needed always in peacetime, as well as in sorrow and times of joy whenever music is well presented” (see below image) (Naylor 100, 197).

I am not going to try to come to any real conclusions with this post, but I would suggest the early rear-facing trombone as one possibility. There are at least two iconographical examples of rear-facing trombones from the 17th century or earlier (see here), as well as many others from the 19th century (see here). In the case of the first three examples below with no apparent bells, the bell on a rear-facing instrument could easily be obscured by the player’s head and/or other parts of the image, such as cap, halo, and wings. In the final example, from the 19th century, the bell is very likely obscured by the player’s helmet; there are multiple other examples of rear-facing trombones in iconography of this precise period and region.

c. 1474—Asciano, Italy: Matteo di Giovanni’s The Assumption of the Virgin, the center panel of an altarpiece in S. Agostino, includes what may be an angel-trombonist along with several other angel-musicians. The instrument has what appears to be a slide but no visible bell (see below detail and full image; public domain) (Belán 111).

1503-1529—Spain: Joan Gascó’s painting, God the Father and the nine angelic choirs, includes what appears to be a trombone-playing angel, grouped with 2 other wind-playing angels, although no bell is apparent on the trombone (see below detail and full image below that; public domain) (Ballester).

1598-1606—Valencia, Spain: Bartolomé Matarana paints a fresco of angel musicians in the the church of Real Colegio–Seminario de Corpus Christi that includes what are probably 2 trombones. Only the slide portions are obvious, although possible bell flares can be seen upon close inspection (see details and full image below) (Olson, Angel Musicians).

c. 1850—Brussels, Belgium: Musicien et trompette de cuirassiers, a lithograph by Henri Hendrickx, portrays a Belgian infantry musician playing on what may be a rear-facing trombone, the bell obscured by the player’s helmet (see below image; public domain) (Bibliotheque royale Albert I; Wangermée vol. 2, 263). See other Belgian rear-facing trombones from the same time period at this post: Belgian Military Trombonists.

1616—Bologna, Italy: Ludovico Carracci’s Paradise, an altarpiece painting located in the Church of San Paolo Maggiore, features an angel-trombonist situated prominently among a group of angel-musicians (see below detail and full image; public domain) (Komma 109; Emiliana 167).

1804-1815—France: A military illustration labeled French Napoleonic Band depicts the foot grenadiers of the 1st Regimental Imperial Army Old Guard, including two trombonists marching with buccin-style instruments (trombones with dragon-head bells) (see above detail and full image; public domain) (Cassin-Scott and Fabb 15).

c. 1839—Fribourg, Switzerland: Musica militaris, a print depicting musicians of the boarding school of Fribourg, features a percussionist and a trombonist with a rear-facing bell (see above image; public domain) (Bovet and Curchod 28). For a similar image from Belgium, see 1831, above.

1840—France: A print depicting a Napoleonic military band includes what could be a buccin-style trombone (dragon-head bell) (see far left of above image; public domain) (Brenet 125). For a similar image, see 1804-1815, above.

1908—England: Military illustrator John McNeil (b. 1872) paints numerous military watercolors for Gale & Polden, including two that feature trombone: Highland Light Infantry (see upper image; Harrington 10) and Worcester Regiment (see above lower; Harrington 39) (images public domain).

1895—United States: A Ringling Brothers circus poster advertises “A superb preliminary musical festival” by Liberati’s Band, billing the ensemble as “America’s grandest military concert band.” Pictured is a large band with 10 trombonists (see upper-right of below image; public domain).

1898—A circus poster for Barnum & Bailey’s Greatest Show on Earth features an 8-member clown band, plus conductor, that includes a trombone. The advertisement, with text printed in French, is from the circus’s European tour of 1897 through 1902 (see below image; public domain).

The Buccin in Trombone History (References from Trombone Timeline)—

c. 1840—Paris, France: A “buccin trombone” with a dragon-head bell is manufactured. The instrument is now held in the Edinburgh University Collection (Bevan 46).

1843—France: A depiction of a theatre orchestra includes a prominently-positioned dragon-bell trombone (buccin). The image is printed in “La Parodie de la Vestale,” Chants et Chansons Populaires de la France II, 1843 (see below image; public domain) (London, British Library; Remnant, Musical Instruments of the West 216).

1843—Madrid, Spain: A dragon-bell trombone (buccin) is made by manufacturer José Ramis (Heyde, Metropolitan).

1873—Paris, France: Christmas Eve in a Spanish Church, a print after Miranda appearing in the Paris illustrated newpaper, L’Illustration, features a buccin, or trombone with a bell in the shape of a dragon’s head (see below image; public domain) (L’Illustration, January 4, 1873, pp. 10-11).

1942—Photograph, held in Köln, Germany, of “virtuoso” Paul Kaiser-Reka, playing a “buccin” valve trombone with a dragon-head bell (Kölnisches Stadtmuseum 302).

Below is an interesting video clip of a modern buccin performance. Enjoy!

1846—London, England: An image printed in the London Daily News depicts a “monster concert” staged by Louis Antoine Jullien at Covent Garden. The performing forces, comprised of Jullien’s orchestra and 4 military bands, include at least 7 trombones: 4 at the top of the first section, and 3 on the third row of the steeper risers (see below image; public domain) (Remnant, Musical Instruments of the West 218).

1853—London, England: H.G. Hine’s The Waits at Seven Dials portrays a group of “Christmas waits” or street musicians, including a trombonist. After the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835, there were no more official waits as funded by British municipalities, but ad hoc musicians would often form at Christmas time in hopes of raising money (see below image; public domain) (Illustrated London News, December 1853).

1858—London, England: An illustration of the band of the French National Guard published in London’s Illustrated Times includes trombone (see below image; public domain).

1872—London, England: A humorous depiction of an ensemble titled German Band is published in The Graphic, an illustrated weekly newspaper (see below image; public domain).

1896—London, England: The Illustrated London News publishes a print by A. Forester called Rival Waits, featuring a trombonist with aggressive technique (see below image; public domain) (Illustrated London News, Dec 19, 1896).

1668-93—Passau, Germany: Carpoforo Tencalla’s fresco in St. Stephan’s Cathedral includes depictions of many angel-musicians, including a trombonist (see facing image; public domain) (Crombie 50).