Some Tuba related Kitsch

Submitted by Domitype December 7th, 2009

Inspired by the Kool-Kats painting – I will post some of my Tuba Kitsch collection at random intervals. I have been collecting them over the last 40 years in various parts of the world.

Hollow ceramic, about 5″ high, no markings, from a San Jose CA junk store.

About 5″ high, made in Germany sometime between 1935 and 1972, found in a Seattle antique store.

Plastic Winnie-the-Poo series toy, bought it on The Internet this year

Solid ceramic, about 3″ high – found in a London antique store

Part of a small frog band, I bought this in New Orleans 10 yeas ago – they are still available on-line. 1″ high.

7 Responses to “Some Tuba related Kitsch”

  1. Allee Willis

    I’m not as fond of the ceramic themselves as much as I am of the fact that you have a tuba collection. I collect a lot of ceramics and figurines playing instruments and have them scattered all over my studio. There’s lots of guitar players as well as keyboards, drums, trumpets and even trombones but tuba players are a much rarer breed.

    Many people don’t appreciate the tuba and just think it’s this booming horn that blasts accent notes here and there. I’d love tubas and often mix them into a bass line to give it extra bottom.

    How many tuba ceramics do you have altogether?

  2. Domitype

    I have about 50 tuba pieces, ceramic and cast metal, not counting “Toy Soldier” figures. I have found another 30 or 40 different ones in other collections or on-line.
    They are mostly animals playing horns, but there are also a lot of human figures (adults, children, clowns and cherubs mostly.)
    I know 3 or 4 other tuba players who also have tuba kitsch collections of more than 30 different pieces.

    There is also a bit of “Tuba Fine Art” around as painting and sculpture, but it is a close line between Art and Kitsch when the subject is a tuba player…

    The tuba has been making a big “come back” in modern music, with Tuba Gooding Jr. on TV a lot, and many “.alt rock” and jazz bands using the horn (with or without bass guitar.) It has been a slow process, but I have been hearing a lot of new music with low brass!

  3. Domitype

    I forgot to mention Santa & Xmas Tuba figurines and ornaments – there are a lot of them! In a “Real Life Kitsch Event” that happens all over the country around Christmastime, there are gatherings of Tubas, Sousaphones, Euphoniums and other related instruments for “Tuba Christmas”
    http://www.makingmusicmag.com/features/tubachristmas.html

    I have done some of these, but not lately.

    • Allee Willis

      I must see Tuba Christmas! That sounds completely fantastic. I checked the website but couldn’t find locations of the event/s. But now that I know about it that will be something I will see/hear in my lifetime!

  4. Domitype

    The LA Tuba Christmas was on the 6th, but there will be one in Anaheim on the 22nd at Disneyland (can’t get much kitschier than that!) or there is one in Riverside on the 19th.

    I don’t know why the other link does not work for you, but here is the official locator site:
    http://www.tubachristmas.com/selectloc.php that has all the details for musicians and some info for the audience.

    • Allee Willis

      Well, I obviously missed the 6th and I’m out of town for the other two but I can assure you that Christmastime next year will be tuba filled.