In addition to finding the perfect instrument for you, Saxquest is also dedicated to exploring the history of the saxophone. If you have ever visited the Saxquest Museum in St. Louis, you’ve noticed one room roped off for ongoing research. Here we are pouring over publications from decades ago, some date back to the mid-late 1800’s in the very early days of the saxophone. Source material includes written stories, internal manufacture’s memos & publications, advertisements, articles, catalogs, manuals, and original photos from both mainstream and lesser known manufacturers. Much of the information gleamed from this research is used in our repair shop every day in our QUEST to know and understand vintage saxophones. We’re happy to share it with you here! Its our hope that you get as much use and enjoyment from it as we have!
Below you can peruse through some of our holdings. Saxquest is cooperating with Saxophone.org to create a central archive for all of these publications and photos. You can spend a lot of time reading some fascinating info on the saxophones of yester-year. There are stories about players and their instruments, and advancements to the saxophone. Find out how these instruments were marketed in their day. What did CG Conn say about the 10M? What market did HN White expect to find for the King Super 20? Did Selmer know at the time of introduction what they had with the Mark VI? You can spend a lot of time here and much debate can be had over who knew what when and why things happened the way they did! And we will continue to add more!
Click on a gallery below to view its contents. Each item will take you to its respective showcase on the Saxophone.org web site.