Bird's "Plastic" Alto: Going, Going...Long Gone

I bought a Grafton plastic alto from some old guy from whom I hitched a ride when I was about 17. Neither of us had a clue what it was. I took it away to college, and it was a regular on the Oxford University gig scene in the late 80s (with 'The Cube Club' and 'Jazz Liberation Front'...). It made an OK sound. The story of its inception and demise is a fascinating one - built by a Hungarian refugee, Hector Sommaruga, and driven out of business by the rest of the industry - though the horn certainly has its flaws... Pete King, on the other hand, is a superb British alto player, worthy of international acclaim.

I saw the plastic alto in K.C. last year--it was nice to be able to see it up close. However, I have to say the rest of the museum was a disappointment compared to the obviously much better-funded Negro Leagues Baseball museum next door--other than the alto and a few contracts (and a relatively new trumpet with the caption, "A trumpet. Louis Armstrong was a famous trumpeter") there really wasn't much else to see.