Link to a Blog on:
Phil Holcomb
and the
St Pete Beach Brass

In 1984 on vacation in Copenhagen from my UN posting in the Oman, I found and bought an old tuba.  This led to the restart of my musical life (after a 25 year hiatus), my joining a brass quintet (The Muscat Brass), and the start of my brass horn collecting.  Once I discovered eBay in 1995 - the collecting quickly became uncontrollable with a collection today numbering more than 250 instruments! As there is a physical limit to the number of horns one can display on the walls or hang from the ceiling in one's home, I decided to create a "Cyber Museum"  to share some of these treasures with the world!   Anyone interested in more detail can read Phils's Musical Bio

Creating this gallery has been a truly educational and enlightening experience! I owe much to the in-depth research and sage advice of knowledgeable authors, museum curators and fellow brass collectors. Especially difficult was settling on a classification system (or taxonomy) for such a wide variety of instruments. The column at the left reflects what I now hope is a logical separation of instrument categories. A special section ihas been created for US Civil War era band instruments. An information paper has been added to explain why 19th century  brass was built in high pitch and now in A=440 Hz - the "Diapason Normal"

Acknowledgement of the assistance provided by colleagues and other resources is provided (with profuse thanks) on my Acknowledgments and Brass Links page. Useful links are also provided to other interesting collections and invaluable  web sites.

Phil's Wish List identifies really special instruments that I would love to have in my collection, but which are heretofor unavailable due to rarity or price! If you have one of these- let me know!!!  Horns traded or sold are marked with "NLIC"  (No Longer In Collection).

I am always happy to answer questions about the collection or about brass instruments in general (except to value a particular horn!).  Offers to purchase or trade any instrument in the collection will be seriously considered!! Visits in person are welcome with prior appointments.  e-Mail contact: Phil@rugs-n-relics.com