SIGNED TOUCHON & CO., NO. 46471, RETAILED BY TIFFANY & CO., CIRCA 1925

John Philip Sousa (1854-1932) remains one of America's greatest composers and conductors. During his life time, "The March King" as he came to be known, wrote 136 marches. Sousa began his musical career at the age of six learning to play the violin and later, while enlisted in the United States Marine Corp, he learned to play the wind instruments. Sousa left the corp for a brief period to work in a theatrical orchestra but returned in 1880 to become the 17th Director of the U.S. Marine Corp Band. It was during this time that Sousa composed one of his most familiar marches, the offical march of the United States, The Stars and Strips Forever. In 1892, John Philip Sousa left the Marine Corp and began what came to be known as "Sousa's Band". The conductor and his orchestra performed for the next 39 years in concerts around the world.

The present watch was given to John Philip Sousa by the American Society of Composers and Publishers (ASCAP) in recognition of his third of a century anniversary. The watch is accompanied by a copy from the ASCAP Board of Director's meeting dated September 29, 1925 in which they discuss making "a suitable gift in commemoration of the event".

The inscribed cuvette reads, "To John Philip Sousa beloved Friend and Associate on his Third of a Century Anniversary American Society of Composers, Authors and Publisher New York City, October 11, 1925".