King Cornet Serial Numbers
By the 1919 catalog this cornet is no longer in production. Earl Williams Model 6 Trombone. Rare Burbank Earl Williams model 6 trombone.500' bore slide with 8' bell. King 'Commander' Model Cornet. Around 1925-1930 the King 'Commander' Model Cornet was introduced. Vocal or C Cornet No. Around 1912-1920 the Vocal or C Cornet No. 1060 was introduced. This cornet could play in C with rotary change to Bb, and side to A. This cornet had the original (or old) valve caps and cap buttons.
Henderson White, founder of the HN White Company, started his business as a proprietor of a small repair shop in Cleveland, Ohio. With the help of Mr. Thomas King, a local trombone player, White developed his first trombone in 1894. This was viewed in the market as a “revelation” to the music world due to its radically different bell, bore, and mouthpipe designs. Players loved the “King” trombone because the slide was smoother and lighter than any other.
These instruments gained immediate success with professionals including Al Pinard, the trombone soloist with Arthur Pryor’s Band. In 1909, the HN White Company developed a “Department of Acoustical Research” with the goal of developing higher quality instruments. As production grew, King became known for brass and woodwind instruments. From 1917-1918, the HN White Company was the sole provider of saxophones for the US military during World War I. In the 1920’s, King would even become the first US manufacturer of French horns.
When Henderson died in 1940, control was taken over by Edna White, the first women executive officer in the male dominated music industry. Under her leadership the company flourished. As most company’s production of brass products halted during World War II, Edna was able to secure two major government contracts making radar units and proximity fuses that kept the factories running.
Coming out of the war, King instruments saw great popularity in the 40’s and 50’s with names like Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, Ziggy Elman, Julian “Cannonball” Adderley, and Charlie “The Bird” Parker. In 1951, the King 3B trombone was introduced and today is still the world’s top selling jazz trombone.
King Student Model 603 Cornet
Hi, This was posted on the Horns forum but probably belongs here better.
A decendant of H. N. White has put up a fanstastic website dedicated to H. N. White and all the years before the White family sold out in 1965.
There is so much great information about the instruments, the family, the factory, the celebrity endorsers, catalogues, etc.
This site is a MUST SEE for all vintage horn collectors, and I'd recommend you 'save' the link for future viewing too!
http://www.hnwhite.com/
I've corresponded with both guys that are so instrumental with the lauching of this site and invited them to visit both this website and the trumpetmaster.com site. I'm sure readers would love to ask some questions . . . and I hope that somewhere out there is information that some of YOU may have that will help them too!
This is great! Two new sites dedicated to the instruments and memory of H. N. White and Foster Reynolds! This, along with Olds Central and the Conn Loyalist sites (plus vintagecornets.com), will increase what we know about the great makers of the past and the awesome horns they lovingly made!
Enjoy!
Tom