Horns like this don't come to Ebay very often. Not only is this a great playing and incredibly beautiful horn, but you are also looking at a true piece of jazz history with a great story behind it. I have been researching this horn over the last year and I believe I now have most of the story behind it.The engraving on the side of the bell reads, "With esteemed friendship to" then "Gil Rodin" and then the following band members names are engraved in a column below Gil's name: "from Ben Goodman, Harry Goodman, Jimmy McPartland, Jack Teagarden, Ben Pollack, Larry Binyon, Dick Morgan, Vic Briedes, Ray Baduc" then the year "1929". Benny Goodman was "discovered" in 1925 by Gil Rodin, who was then the right hand man and talent scout for Ben Pollack. Ben Pollack was, as many know, one of the most famous big band leaders of the 1920's. The Pollack Band's fame grew exponentially after the addition of Benny in 1925 and by1929 Benny's fame had begun to outshine the rest of the band. It was in early1929 that Benny Goodman decided to leave the Pollack band on the west coast and go to New York to start his solo career. For a good rundown on the Pollack band and it's members discography, look here http://www.jazzoracle.com/catalogue/bDW_8016.htm (virtually all of Pollack's band members went on to lead bands of their own). Quite naturally, Benny and the entire Pollack band felt they owed a great debt of gratitude to Gil for discovering Benny and thus bringing them the fame and fortune they had known over the preceeding 4 years. Also, Benny and Gil's friendship seems to have been close. Benny was known to his close friends as "Ben" rather than "Benny" and the engraving also reads "Ben Goodman". They are often pictured very close to each other or side by side in the few pictures I have managed to find. For more on Benny Goodman look here: http://www.netradio.net/channels/bigband/artist_1.html http://www.getmusic.com/artists/amg/artist/629/119629.html This horn was Benny's (and the Pollack band's) way of saying thank you. And what a thank you it was! Look at the photos. This horn was Buescher's top of the line baritone sax in 1929 with exquisite engraving all over the front of the bell in bright gold plate. The rest of the horn is satin gold plated with bright gold plate on the keys and rods and is in great shape for a horn of this great age. All the accessories which were in the case are included (and photo can be supplied via email), as is a nickel silver Goldbeck mouth piece with a very unusual metal slip_on ligature. There are quite a few very old reeds also. Gil Rodin used this horn until the early 40's. I have found an album jacket of Bob Cosby's "Ecstasy Vol. 17 Complete Discograhy" from 1942 that has Rodin's photo (request by email) and what I believe to be the same horn I am auctioning here. Soon after, Rodin was drafted and became a member of the Army Artilliery Band until 1944~5. It is around this time that Rodin sold this horn to a William Ebel who evidently was in the same band as Rodin. William Ebel died about 2 years ago in New York, well into his 80's. The horn was purchased from his estate and evidently Mr. Ebel played this horn constantly until his death in 1999. I have been able to date Mr. Ebel's ownership of the horn because in the case and also included in the auction is a VERY rare white plastic Brillhart Enduro Tonalin reed! Slipped into the back of this reed's reed holder is the very receipt from Arnold Brillhart's store in New York City with the name WM. Ebel, Camp Rucker, Alabama and the date 5/24/1945 and price of $2.00 written on it. It was in 1945 that Rodin returned to civilian life and resumed playing professionally, first with Ray Baduc, who's name is also engraved on the bari. While Rodin was earlier known more for his alto and clarinet playing, from this point on, he began playing baritone and tenor sax more. I am assuming Gil went on to buy a more modern baritone. His discography shows him being a side man on tenor and baritone as well as alto from this point in his career. For more on Gil Rodin please check the following: http://www.xrefer.com/entry/627679 http://www.getmusic.com/artists/amg/artist/629/119629.html I invite you to look at the websites I have listed to get a more detailed account of Gil Rodin's career. Please take a good look at the photos and if there are any other questions I will try to answer them all here. The overall condition of the horn is fine. I would guage the plating at around 95 % and the pads are in good shape. The horn is playable, but you would clearly want to get it adjusted and repadded if you planned to play it regularly. I wanted to keep it exactly as I found it, so nothing has been done to it at all. There are a few very tiny dents that you normally find on a bari, but nothing noticeable or detrimental in any way. Concerning shipping and insurance: I am located in Japan and shipping a baritone sax from here to anywhere in the world is a very expensive thing. Japanese postal rates are among the highest in the world. I recently shipped a bari to Australia and it cost close to $450.00 US dollars! I realize this is a lot, so I am asking a flat $300.00 for the shipping. I will absorb the extra shipping cost over $300.00 US dollars. In addition the buyer agrees to pay for insurance for the full amount of the selling price. I will provide all packing materials free of charge and pack it extremely securely. Concerning payment: I will accept payment in US dollars only. Payment can be made by wire transfer into my bank account in the USA. After full payment for the horn, $300.00 shipping fee and insurance is received, and once confirmation of these payments is made from my bank, I will immediately ship the horn by registered private mail courier (UPS, most likely). Unfortunately, due to my location and the time it would take to mail and cash and confirm, I will not accept money orders, cashiers checks, nor personal checks. I cannot accept credit cards either. All sales are final. Payment may be made through Escrow with buyer paying escrow fees. I am not a dealer, but I am a sax player/teacher and unrepentent collector of vintage saxes. Please feel free to check my feedback rating here on Ebay. Unfortunately, I have come into some unexpected expenses and I need to sell this horn soon. I really do hate to see it go.... The reserve price is set 2/3 lower than this horn has been appraised for, so my misfortune is your good fortune. Thanks for your patience waiting for the photos to load and good luck and good bidding! Please do not hesitate to ask any questions you may have. I have many other photos of the horn, including some of Benny and Gil together that I can email you.