Greetings-
     LAcquer was first introduced by Conn and almost simultaneously by Buescher in about 1924.

Cheers,
     Mark Overton
     www.saxquest.com 

The first saxophone with the standard arrangement seen on virtually all horns produced today was the Super Balanced Action introduced by Selmer (Paris) in 1948.  American manufacturers had been making improvements but the breakthrough to the modern saxophone was done in France.  Mechanical improvement of the saxophone such as the high E and F keys, the single octave key, the front F key, improvements to the left-hand cluster mechanisms, and right-side bell keys, had been occurring since the turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries.    

saxpics.com is a good source if you want to trace the development of the saxophone.