The April Horn of the Month was made by John F. Stratton of New York and is a saxhorn-type instrument pitched in “Eb”. In 1845 (patented) Adolf Sax had created a set of brasses, an entire family or group (soprano, alto, tenor and bass) of instruments all with a matching conical bore. This helped to achieve a blended uniform vocal sound for the set of instruments. “Sax discovered that it is the proportions given to a column of air vibrating in a sonorous tube, and these alone, that determine the timbre produced (Encyclopedia Britannica)”. Yet, the most striking feature of this Horn of the Month is that it is an “over-the-shoulder” saxhorn. Alan Dodworth (1822-1896), a New York band leader, invented and patented in 1838 the concept of the “over-the–shoulder” saxhorns”. These “OTS” instruments, very popular during the American Civil War, are instruments that when played, point backwards “over-the-shoulder” of the player towards the troops marching behind the band.
When the Chestnut Brass Company began in 1977, for five days a week, Monday through Friday, we played the “lunch hour” from 11am until 2 pm each day at the corner of 17th Street and Chestnut Street. I was living in South Philly and would walk each day to play on the street corner. I varied my route some, and one day I passed a small shop near Locust Street and 10th Street and noticed an instrument hanging from a nail on the wall. At that time, I didn’t know what it was, so I went in and asked how much they wanted for the silver horn. It was the start of my collection of original instruments. I fell madly in love with that horn. These many years later, I still think that the Stratton Eb OTS is among my favorite instruments.
This beautiful instrument is made of nickel-silver. The valves are rotary valves (valves are in the standard configuration: whole step, half step, step and a half). There is a “Union Army shield” on the bell with the inscription in two lines reading “John F. Stratton /New York”. It was restored to playing condition by Robert Kendal, a terrific repair person and horn player with the Baltimore Symphony. Two inner slides had corroded and needed to be replaced. In addition one valve lever and a cap to the rotary valve were missing and had to be made. The instrument came with an unmarked, fairly deep funnel-like mouthpiece at the time of purchase. It is difficult to think of that mouthpiece as “the original” one, but perhaps it is. Never-the- less, it is interesting and has a beautiful sound. Unfortunately, for me, the mouthpiece has a small inner diameter and a very sharp inner rim.
John Franklin Stratton (New York 1859-1912) played an assortment of instruments- trombone, keyed-bugle, clarinet and violin. Importantly, he received training as a machinist and opened a music store in New York in 1859 serving as a music retailer, brass instrument maker, and importer of musical instruments. “During the Civil War, Stratton provided more than 60,000 field trumpets and bugles for the government. Stratton employed nearly 200 workers making upwards of 100 instruments a day” during the war (see The Music Men- Haze and Hazen).
You can hear this instrument on many Chestnut Brass Company recordings:

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Stephen Foster: Foster for Brass- Naxos 8.559124

http://www.amazon.com/Foster-Brass-S/dp/B00007FPFS/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1427981789&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=Stephen+Foster%3A+Foster+for+Brass+Naxos+8.559124+chestnut+brass

Listen to the Mocking Bird- Newport Classic NPD 85516

http://www.amazon.com/Listen-Mocking-Chestnut-Brass-Company/dp/B000024O8Q/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1427981727&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=listen+to+the+mockingbird+chestnut+brass

Of Interest:
(Some information was taken from the websites listed below)
University of Edinburgh- List of Adolf Sax instruments
http://homepages.ed.ac.uk/am/gdsl.html

Cornet Compendium – Stratton listing
http://www.angelfire.com/music2/thecornetcompendium/manufacturers_s_z.html

Metropolitan Museum of Art – Stratton OTS circa 1860
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/89.4.2295

The Encyclopedia of New York City- Kenneth T. Jackson, ‎Lisa Keller, ‎Nancy Flood - 2010
https://books.google.com/books?id=lI5ERUmHf3YC&pg=PT447&lpg=PT447&dq=john+stratton+brass+instrument+manufacturers&source=bl&ots=Ot1esI-zzy&sig=VgHTQEBHI78TskwCvVfkRTRDDbA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=dfoaVYfDF5CuogS_qYKgBA&ved=0CB0Q6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=john%20stratton%20brass%20instrument%20manufacturers&f=false

A Bandsmen and his Wife
http://temposenzatempo.blogspot.com/2012/08/a-bandsman-and-his-wife.html

National Music Museum- Utley Collection- Stratton cornet
http://orgs.usd.edu/nmm/UtleyPages/StringRotaryValves/TopAction/6858/StrattonCornet6858.html

National Music Museum- Utley Collection- Stratton OTS
http://orgs.usd.edu/nmm/UtleyPages/OTSCornets/7033/StrattonOTS1860.html

Horn-u-copia – site antique brasses
http://www.horn-u-copia.net/

The March Brass/String Bands and Jazz – Dr. Karl Koenig
http://militarymusic.com/blogs/military-music/13515717-the-march-brass-string-bands-and-jazz

The 19th Century American Wind Band
http://www.lipscomb.edu/windbandhistory/rhodeswindband_06_19thcenturyamerican.htm

Books of interest:
The History of the March by Dr. Karl Koenig

The Music Men: An Illustrated History of Brass Bands in America, 1800-1920. Hazen and Hazen 1987.
http://www.amazon.com/Music-Men-Illustrated-History-1800-1920/dp/0874745462

Antique Brass Wind Instruments. Adams 1998.
http://www.amazon.com/Antique-Brass-Wind-Instruments-Identification/dp/076430027X

The American Wind Band: A Cultural History Richard K. Hansen
http://www.amazon.com/American-Wind-Band-Cultural-History/dp/1579994679/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427980823&sr=1-2&keywords=The+History+of+the+March