• King Trumpet Serial Number Search
• King 601 Trumpet Serial Number Lookup
• King Musical Instrument Serial Numbers

King Tempo Ii 601 Trumpet Original Case. Starting price: $51.00. King Silver Flair 2055t Trumpet No Reserve. Starting price: $500.00. King 600 Usa Trumpet W/hard Shell Case. King 600 Trumpet, 3 Mouthpieces, Dbl Case, 3 Mutes, Cleaning Supplies, Stand Lot. Starting price: $300.00. Congratulations on your trumpet purchase and your upcoming experience in school band. Regarding the King trumpet, I am not an expert and others will likely give more details but here is what I know. Your trumpet was made in 1988. This is determined by adding 50 to the 2-digit prefix on the serial number.

The development of a serial number list has been very difficult because of the lack of official records. Mr. H. N. White kept very detailed records but when the company was sold to the Seeburg Corporation all official records were destroyed. When looking up the age of your instrument, complete the following steps: (1.) Find your instruments catalog page and year that the catalog was made. Pay special attention to the small details on your instrument because most artists drawings account for unique changes and features. (2.) Compare your findings to the serial number list. Please keep in mind that most catalogs were dated on the back and should be trusted more than the serial number list.

• Early instruments will have a 'lion head' by the serial numbers and are engraved 'The King'.
• In 1918 the company was incorporated and 'Co' was added to the engraving of all instruments, before 1918 the engraving read simply as 'H. N. White.'
• In 1926-1928 H. N. White introduced Sterling Silver bells to his instruments.
• In 1948-1950 'Silver Tone' engraving was changed to read 'Silversonic'.
• After 1966, all instruments were manufactured in Eastlake and engraved with 'King Musical Instruments.'

1/01/2008 We have reevaluated the serial number list to reflect new information. The number of instruments produced in the early years 1893-1905, has been reduced.

The serial number lists are NOT 100% accurate.

Date	Serial Number
1893-1899	1-4,000
1900-1903	4,001-6,000
1904-1905	6,001-9,000
1905-1910	9,001-25,000
1910-1915	25,001-40,000
1915-1925	40,001-78,000
1925-1930	78,001-126,000
1930-1935	126,001-176,000
1935-1936	176,001-186,000
1936-1937	186,001-200,000
1937-1938	200,001-212,000
1938-1939	212,001-225,000
1939-1940	225,001-239,000
1940-1941	239,001-254,000
1941-1942	254,001-264,000
1942-1945	264,001-267,500
1945-1946	267,501-277,000
1946-1947	277,001-287,000
1947-1948	287,001-296,500
1948-1949	296,501-301,500
1949-1950	301,501-308,000
1950-1951	308,001-316,500
1951-1952	316,501-322,000
1952-1953	322,001-330,000
1953-1954	330,001-337,000
1954-1955	337,001-340,000
1955-1960	340,001-370,000
1960-1965	370,000-406,500
1965-1970	406,501-457,600

String Serial Numbers

American Standard String Bass Serial Numbers
1934 001 1935 200 1936 400 1937 800 1938 1200 1939 1600 1940 2200 1942-1946 No Production WWII 1947 Limited Production 1949 1950 1951 1952 2450 1953 2600 1954 2800 1955 3000 1956 3200 1957 3400 1958 3600 1959 3800 1960 4000 1961 4200 1962 4400 1963 4600 1964 4800 1965 5000	1936 001 1937 185 1938 480 1939 790 1940 1010 1941 1320 1942-1946 No Production WWII 1947-1948 No Production 1949 1400 1950 1500 1951 1600 1952 1700 1953 1800 1954 1900 1955 2000 1956 2100 1957 2200 1958 2300 1959 2400 1960 2500 1961 2600 1962 2700 1963 2800 1964 2900 1965 3090

Cleveland and American Standard Serial Numbers:

Date	Serial Number
1919-1930	1-10,000
1930-1935	10,000-30,000
1935-1940	30,000-40,000
1940-1945	40,000-45,000
1945-1950	45,000-50,000
1950-1955	50,000-65,000
1955-1960	65,000-100,000
1960-1965	100,000-160,000
1965-1970	160,000-420,000

Henderson N. White was born in Romeo, Michigan, on July 16, 1873. As a young child Henderson was captivated by how things work and making improvements. He made his first musical instrument at age thirteen, a Cuban cigar box violin which is still around today.

Starting in the Detroit shop of O. F. Berdan, Henderson N. White dreamed a dream of truer, finer band instruments. His repair work and daily contact with musicians taught him the weaknesses of the instruments then used. And his musician's instinct could not be content with their imperfections.

Setting himself to the task of making that dream come true, Mr. White soon gained more that a local reputation. Learning always from band masters who visited that little shop in Detroit; studying in every spare moment; and experimenting always; it wasn't long before other cities heard about him.

When McMillin's Music Store of Cleveland needed a competent man to take charge of their repair work they turned to this young student.

But the dream urged Mr. White on. After five years with McMillin he branched out into a partnership with C. H. Berg. During this time the company sold imported instruments

and ran a very effective repair shop. The shop was located on 13 woodland Ave and was very small. In 1893 Mr. White became sole owner of the business and then the realization of the dream was close at hand.

For in 1894 the first 'King' trombone came from Mr. White's tiny workshop. But it wasn't 'just another trombone.' Building into it all that he had learned, blending knowledge with the love of accomplishment, that first trombone was a revelation to the musical world. And with help from Mr. Thomas King, a local trombone player who helped Mr. White perfect his invention. What developed was radically different from the then prevailing models in bell, bore and mouthpipe, the 'King' Trombone was acclaimed by band men everywhere. The first famous musician to play this new trombone was Al Pinard, who did his best to get others to try a 'The King'. From 1894 to 1908 each trombone slide was actually made by H. N. White. Band Players loved the King trombone because the slide was finer and smoother and lighter in action than any other. With this success Mr. white soon ran out of space, and moved the operation to 1870 East 9th Street, in the Erie Building in 1897.

Mr. Hugh E. White, brother of H. N. White came to the company in 1903 to organize a credit department for the efficient handling of accounts, and later moved into the Vice President's position (leaving in 1940’s). The H. N. White Company was one of the first to extensively advertise and offer credit purchase plans. Then in 1904 F. A. Reynolds became Superintendent of the factory floor.

Mr. White's goals for his company were to constantly strive to build better instruments with the highest quality, and build each instrument acoustically correct. Starting in 1909 Mr. White made the 'Department of Acoustical Research' and purchased (what is thought of as) the worlds largest set of tuning bells. Every instrument in production would spend time being developed, and looking for the smallest of improvements. Mr. White never started production on any instrument unless the new design was a vast improvement in both tone and quality.

Also, 1909 Mr. White moved from the little workshop to 5225 superior Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio with 38,000 square feet of new work space. Once settled down, Mr. White started holding lunch time concerts two or three times a week to fine tune his craftsmen and instruments.

Some time in 1908 King began importing Evette & Schaeffer saxophones and selling them as a less expensive alternative to American made saxes. Then in 1910 Carl Fisher Instruments became sole distributor of Evette & Schaeffer saxophones and Mr. White was forced to look elsewhere. Mr. White chose to import V. Kohlert saxophones while he built up the King facilities to enter into his own production of saxophones. Finely around 1916 Mr. White began producing his own saxophones and by 1925 he introduced a new series of horns eight (C soprano, straight and curved Bb sopranos, Bb Saxello, Eb alto, C melody, Bb tenor and Eb baritone) horns made in Cleveland. From 1917 to 1918 the entire production of saxophones was made for the government during World War I. Saxophones produced during the War are engraved with U. S. or some other type of engraving which tells which branch of the military it went to. (U. S. N. =Navy, U. S. M. C.=U. S. Army Quartermaster Corps) These saxophones featured many new improvements by King associate Mr. Henry Dreves. The most interesting of these improvements was the introduction of the King 'Saxello' in the early 1920's. The Saxello was a curved neck and a bell tipped at a right angle on a straight soprano.

It was in 1917 that a separate small building was erected beside the main plant for development of a line of woodwind instruments. By the 1920's King woodwinds, along with King brasses and horns, took their places in the finest orchestras.

During this time frame the King work force grew to over two hundred men. Mr. White never 'hired' workers, they had to be skilled artist-craftsmen who had a love for fine work. This allowed Mr. White to offer almost endless list of options (six finishes) ranging simple highly polished brass to artist special gold hand burnished. King also made it own cases for each instrument it manufactured and for other producers.

Some time during the middle to late 20's Mr. White became the first instrument maker to introduce sterling silver bells on King instruments. Mr. White thought that the silver bells of trombones offered better tone and tone carries farther with less vibrations. The 'Silver Tone' bell was then introduced and carried throughout the King line up. Today, King 'Silver Sonic' and 'Silver Tone' bells are sought over for their great tone and wonderful engravings.

The 1920's also saw the introduction of the King French Horn. With it's marvelous tone, this was the first American made French Horn to break down the tradition and prejudice for foreign makes. The King French Horn was an immediate sales success. Below, is a picture of Mr. White (far right) watching his skilled artist-craftsmen assemble his 'new' French horn.

In 1925 Mr. White bought the Cleveland Musical Instrument Company. The Cleveland Musical Instrument Company was formed in February of 1919 and was known for their Cleveland Trumpet. The Company was successful for awhile and at one time employed fifteen people. But as frequently happens with new companies, overhead and expenses were too great for the volume of business they could command. For two years The H. N. White Company made instruments for Cleveland to help fill back orders. Mr. White saw the Cleveland brand as the perfect fit to cover the growing school band market which demanded high quality instruments at a low price. The Cleveland brand, along with American Standard were marketed to marching bands and schools. Both were about 40% less in price than a 'King.'

Mr. H. N. White was by all accounts a workaholic, but he did enjoy card games, fishing, and going to the the Cleveland symphony. On March 17, 1932 Mr. White Married a third time to Edna Richert a then department store gown buyer. The two of them had a love of music and theater. Edna had a child from a previous marriage named Cathryn and Mr. White quickly adopted the precocious eleven year old. (As a side note, Dr. Frank Simon would visit from Cincinnati and stay with Mr. and Mrs. White and during this time he taught Cathryn how to swim). Cathryn played Clarinet (a King Silver bell) and each summer she was sent to band camp at Cedar Point. During the 1936 Summer a picture was taken of the entire band (with Cathryn) and H. N. White could not resist the opportunity to put his Daughter in White Way News Number Nine. Because Mrs. White was a working girl, Henderson put her in charge of the White Apartments. The White Apartments had fallen on hard times and Mrs. White quickly cleaned them up and turned them around. For many years the two of them would drive to work together, first stopping at the White Apartments to drop off Edna, then Mr. White would continue to the plant.

Through the depression years to the beginning of World War II, The H. N. White Company moved steadily forward with its planned program of making a wider variety of musical instruments. In 1934 King stringed instruments were introduced with the big Bass Viol. This was followed in 1936 with the King Cello. In 1938 Mr. White created the silver-lined clarinet and finished developing the Trombonium. The Trombonium was a valve trombone designed to be used in school bands and orchestras. Also in 1934, The H. N. White Company became the first musical instrument manufacture to offer group life insurance to all of its 152 craftsmen. The policy was of the contributing type with the premium payments being paid by both employer and employees.(1)

In 1936 F.A. Reynolds left King to start his own short-lived company. Early Reynolds instruments closely resemble King instruments with few if any improvements over the original design. In the late forties Mr. Reynolds sold his company and eventually Reynolds was owned by Norlin.

Then in March 26, 1940 at the age of 65 Mr. H. N. White died suddenly. During his remarkable career as a designer and manufacturer of musical instruments, Henderson White redesigned twenty eight instruments. Mr. White made a huge impact on the manufacturing of musical instruments, because of his passion for high quality perfect sounding instruments.

Following Mr. White's death, Hugh E. White took over as President of the company while the heirs worked out who was in control. Mrs. Edna White, and her daughter Miss Cathryn White together controlled two-thirds of the stock in The H. N. White Company. Then in the middle of 1941, Mrs. Edna White took control of the company as President just as World War Two started.

When Mrs. Edna White took over the company World War Two was just a few months away. It is important to point out at that Edna White was the first women executive (in the band industry) entering a male dominated world, and many in the industry viewed her as an outsider and predicted the immediate decline of The H. N. White Company. What many of Mrs. White's critics failed to realize was that she had experience in the business world and knew how and when to use her authority. Edna's basic belief was that The H. N. White Company should have superior quality second to none, and she let this belief motivate most of her business decisions. With the start of the war, the company was unable to make many instruments although the service department remained open, and Mrs. White worked hard to get government contracts. The work force was highly skilled and particularly adapt at putting together saxophones with many parts that had to be tuned just right. With that in mind, the government issued the company two large contracts. The first contract was to assemble radar units (tuners and antennae's) for both the Navy and Army. Because of the company's complex work with silver, the second contract was issued to assemble silver plated parts on proximity fuses. Each radar unit had a large number of parts and were difficult to assemble, and King craftsman worked long hours to increase production.

Throughout this time Mrs. White (in the center office talking to someone 1945), President of The H. N. White Company, had to reassure the network of King dealers that a woman as President still meant that the company was going to stay focused on good products with great quality when the war was finished. For the most part the dealers were happy with the change and continued their partnership with the King company. As the war drew to a close, work slowly began on a new line of instruments to be introduced when the war over. By the end of the war, The H. N. White Company had completed a $250,000 expansion (two new wings) which increased production by fifty percent. The total war time contracts awarded to the company totaled five million dollars.