Alto Saxhorn with Rotating Bell

In 1859, Adolphe Sax patented a 'pavillon tournant,' a rotating bell for brass instruments.  Sax called saxhorns with this bell configuration 'Nouveau saxhorn' to indicate that they were a new invention.  This idea was revived in the twentieth century by jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, but even in 1859 it was not new.  Rotating bells were already in use in the 1840s in some French cornets made for small Parisian salons.  This particular saxhorn features six independent valves.