King

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 with a different bell, bore, and mouthpipe designs. 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 was 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. 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.

The company was taken over by Nate Dolin (1914-2009) in 1965, resulting in the company changing its name to "King Musical Instruments." Continuing in their legacy, the company was bought by Bernhard Muskantor in 1985, and it also developed into the manufacturing division of United Musical of Elkhart, IN. Moving into the twenty-first century, Conn-Selmer eventually took over the company in 2003, marketing a wide variety of King trombones and other brass instruments primarily used in marching bands. The company's history, dating back over a century, has highlighted its significant contribution to instrument design and manufacturing innovations through its production of high-quality instruments.