Years ago I had a chance to buy a Triebert bass sax. Triebert was a famous maker of Bassoons and Oboes that eventually was incorporated into Couesnon around 1880. It wasn't a very satisfying play and the instrument wasn't keyed high or low enough for my tastes. So I let it go and eventually purchased a lovely Buescher bass sax that needed some work. I've recently heard that Couesnon stopped making the bass sax in the '80s.
I've never seen a Couesnon bass. The one in the above picture, based on its keyed range and the style of the pic, is probably not newer than 1910. I've theorized that Couesnon stopped making saxophones, period, in the 1980s or by 1980. I'm fairly sure that Couesnon stopped making anything other than alto, tenor and baritone at or around 1931. However, Couesnon did make low A altos after WWII, so they might have had other things available on a "custom order" basis.
