Virtual Tour of Muzika! A Celebration of Czech and Slovak Music Euphonium by V. F. Červený & Fils, Königgräts, Bohemia, ca. 1900 NMM 1523. Euphonium by V. F. Červený & Fils, Königgräts (Hrádec Kralové), Bohemia, ca. 1900. Distributed by Louis Viták, Chicago, Sole Agent for U.S. and Canada. Brass with nickel-silver trim. Václav František Červený (1819-1896), who apprenticed with Johann Adam Bauer in Prague, founded his company in 1844. In 1866 he joined in partnership with his sons, Jaroslav and Stanislav, as V. F. Červený & Söhne, and by 1880, when Emperor Franz Josef made a state visit to the factory, the firm employed more than 100 people and produced 3,000 brass instruments a year. In 1885, he sold 6,000 brass instruments to the Russian army. A year later, his funeral cortège included three bands, marching silently, their instruments wrapped in crêpe. A Bohemian patriot and the leading Austrian maker of his time, he was responsible for the adoption of wide-bore brass instruments, like this euphonium, in German-speaking lands. Arne B. Larson Collection, 1979. Note: Click anywhere on the image to see an enlargement of the rotary-valve section. Louis Viták (1862-1933), born in Johannesberg, Bohemia, moved first to Canton, Ohio, was listed as a music teacher there in 1886 and as a dealer from 1891 to 1901, and then moved to Chicago, as sole agent at 204 Wabash Avenue for the U.S. distribution of Červený brass instruments. This stunning euphonium carries first-prize medals from the great expositions of 1889 in Paris and 1893 in Chicago.   Click arrow to continue Virtual Tour of Muzika! A Celebration of Czech and Slovak Music Go to Muzika Exhibition Virtual Tour Index Go to Virtual Gallery Tour Index National Music Museum The University of South Dakota 414 East Clark Street Vermillion, SD 57069 ©National Music Museum, 2004 Most recent update: October 22, 2007 You are the 6,359th visitor to this page since April 12, 2004. The University of South Dakota Return to Top of Page