[potiphar]

This has been puzzling me for some time. My father (now deceased) started playing about 1933, and used to tell me his first alto was picked up in a pawn shop for some low price about then. It had an engraving of a naked lady on it. Eventually he traded it in for a Selmer New Largebore, which I still play.

I understand the Conn Naked Ladies were only produced from 1935, and in any case dad would have said if he'd picked up a new Conn so cheap. Does anyone know any other saxes - maybe cheap stencils - that carried such an engraving in the 20s or before? In other words, did Conn copy the idea from somewhere else?

 

[Fungus Mungus]

Your father's memory was fine

The 6M (aka the "Naked Lady") was produced in the 30s, but Conn engraved naked ladies on their artist model saxes starting (I believe) with the New Wonder series. These were burnished gold-plated saxes that featured several different elaborate engraving schemes, including full-figure naked ladies. I just sold one from 1922...a great horn. Check it out:

fm

 

[potiphar]

Thanks for the info. That's a possibility, I guess - a bit upmarket for a UK pawn-shop though. My dad's sax actually fell of the top of a car on the way to a gig - the guy in Selmers shop still took in in part-exchange, though, so I suppose it can't have been absolute rubbish.

Yours looks gorgeous, though.