This trumpet was made by King Musical Instruments, Inc. in Eastlake, Ohio in 1981. It is a B-flat trumpet, serial #863033, made of brass with 3 piston valves with mother-of-pearl buttons. This trumpet is engraved “Harry James” on the bell, and played by him.
Harry Hagg James (1916-1983) began his early career playing with his father’s circus band. By 1935, James joined Ben Pollack’s band and two years later would go on to star with Benny Goodman’s Orchestra. James formed his own orchestra in 1939, which would continue through the early 1980s.
Harry James appeared in several movies from 1937 to 1983, including Swing Fever (1943), Bathing Beauty (1944), and If I’m Lucky (1946).
This trumpet was made by Henderson N. White in Cleveland, Ohio about 1931. It is a B-flat soprano trumpet, “King Liberty Model,” serial #134288. This trumpet is made of burnished gold and sterling silver with elaborate engravings throughout and has 3 piston valves with mother-of-pearl buttons. This trumpet is engraved:
KING LIBERTY MODEL MADE BY THE H.N. WHITE CO. CLEV,D O
and on the bell:
KING MADE BY H.N. WHITE CLEVD.O.
Only 100 soprano trumpets were made by Henderson H. White as promotional items for musical instrument dealers and performers.
The trumpet case was made by King Musical Instruments in Eastlake, Ohio, in 1981. It is made of wood, covered with black stained embossed leather and black stained leather trim, with metal fittings, leather covered handle, and green plush interior. Accessioned with King trumpet (1988.0057.01).
This custom–made "Silver Flair" trumpet belonged to renowned trumpeter, bandleader, and composer John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie, a founder of the modern jazz style known as bebop. Renowned for his musical virtuosity and for his impish good humor and wit, Gillespie played this trumpet from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. Its uniquely shaped upturned bell was Gillespie's internationally known trademark.
This mute was made by Shastock in Cleveland, Ohio, undetermined date. It is a Tonalcolor model trumpet mute made of fiberboard with a gold-tone aluminum cup. Used by jazz musician, William Alonzo “Cat” Anderson.
This trombone was made by King Musical Instruments in Eastlake, Ohio in 1976. It is a B-flat tenor slide trombone, serial # 669187 King 3-B Concert model with a solid silver bell. The trombone is engraved:
KING 3-B Silver Sonic Concert KING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS -U.S.A.- To J.J.JOHNSON IN RECOGNITION OF HIS UNIQUE CONTRIBUTIONS TO AMERICAN MUSIC June 26, 1976
(stamped on the slide): 10169
This trombone was previously owned and played by James Louis Johnson (1924-2001), an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. As inspired by Dizzy Gillespie, Johnson was one of the earliest musicians to embrace the bebop style of jazz.
This mute was made by Shastock in Cleveland, Ohio, in the 1950s. It is a Micro Whispa model trumpet straight mute made of stone-lined fiberboard with white cover and gold end with holes and cork strip at top. Previously owned and used by Cuban-born musician, Pedro Knight (1921-2007). There is a printed maker’s label:
This trombone was made by Henderson N. White in Cleveland, Ohio in 1898. It is a B-flat tenor slide King model trombone, serial #3293. This trombone is a highly engraved silver-plated trombone, probably one of the first ten made by H.N. White. The trombone is engraved:
This clarinet was made by Henderson N. White Co. in Cleveland, Ohio around 1950 to 1953. It is a Boehm System clarinet in B-flat, Gladiator model, serial #FF982, made of nickel silver plated brass. This clarinet is engraved:
The Gladiator MADE BY THE H.N. WHITE CO. CLEVELAND OHIO
The H.N. White Company produced its “Gladiator” line of band instruments from 1940-1941 and 1950-1953. The “Gladiator” brand included cornets, trumpets, clarinets, and trombones and were high quality instruments at a lower price. An H.N. White advertisement from 1941 indicates:
“The constant increase in the number and sizes of School Bands has created a demand for a quality line of low priced AMERICAN MADE Band Instruments for students and beginners who cannot afford to purchase the higher priced instruments.
In response to this demand we have created the GLADIATOR Line consisting of Trumpet - Cornet - Trombone and Clarinet - each designed to give the student a better instrument in the low price range to enable him to progress faster and become a better player.”
Print of a photograph of the K of P Minstrels taken at the Piketon Opera House in Piketon, Ohio in 1927. The photograph shows a line of costumed performers onstage in front of several backdrops painted to appear like a cave. The central figure, probably the interlocutor, is flanked on both sides by five men in satin uniforms and four performers in blackface minstrel costume holding tambourines. The orchestra, in the foreground, are holding their instruments, including a saxophone, banjo, piano, trombone, and two trumpets. Names of the performers are listed on the verso.
Beginning in England in the early 1880s, the Arts and Crafts movement spread across the United States and Europe by the late 1880s. It celebrated the importance of beauty in everyday objects and urged a reconnection to nearby nature. The movement resisted the way industrial mass production undermined artisan crafts and was inspired by the ideas of artisan William Morris and writer John Ruskin. Valuing hand-made objects using traditional materials, it was known for a color palette of earth tones. Its artistic principles replaced realistic, colorful, and three-dimensional designs with more abstract and simplified forms using subdued tones. Stylized plant forms and matte glazes echoed a shift to quiet restraint in household décor. The Arts and Crafts movement also embraced social ideals, including respect for skilled hand labor and concern for the quality of producers’ lives. The movement struggled with the tension between the cost of beautiful crafts and the limited number of households able to afford them. Some potters relied on practical products such as drain tiles to boost income or supported themselves with teaching or publications. Arts and Crafts influence extended to other endeavors, including furniture, such as Stickley’s Mission Style, and architecture, such as the Arts and Crafts bungalow, built widely across the United States. American Arts and Crafts pottery flourished between 1880 and the first World War, though several potteries continued in successful operation into the later 20^th^ century.
About Rookwood Pottery:
Rookwood is one of the most famous of the late nineteenth century art potteries, and it is the most extensively represented in the Smithsonian collection. Maria Longworth Nichols, its founder, began work as a china painter in 1873 and was part of the China Decorating Group in Cincinnati (see About Mary Louise McLaughlin). Inspired by French and Japanese pottery displayed in the Philadelphia Exposition of 1876, she began to learn ceramic techniques, and in 1880, her father offered her “an old schoolhouse” that became her working pottery. Her family continued financial support until her father’s death in 1883, when William Watts Taylor joined Rookwood Pottery as an administrator and partner, bringing a new business-oriented approach. Taylor expanded production and hired men decorators for the first time, though the majority of artists employed over the years were women. In 1884, artist Laura Frye innovated the application of underglaze slips using an atomizer, which allowed the subtle gradations of color that became a signature of Rookwood pottery and was adopted elsewhere. In 1889, Rookwood was awarded a Gold Medal at the Paris Exposition, “placing the enterprise at the forefront of the world’s potteries” (Evans 1987:257). In 1890, Maria Nichols, now married to Bellamy Storer, withdrew from the firm, leaving Taylor as director. The firm continued to grow, developed rich matte and bright glazes, and emphasized plant and floral designs. The company employed a Japanese artist, Kataro Shiryamadani, who produced many designs reflecting a Japanese aesthetic. Later subjects included portraits of native Americans and historical figures. The firm also introduced pottery with electro-deposited silver overlay designs.
Rookwood developed a matte glaze around 1900 to compete with the forest-green hues of the popular Grueby Faience Company. Unlike Grueby’s glaze, which appeared waxy and leafy, Rookwood’s interpretation often used pastel tones with a vellum-like finish. Rookwood’s earlier Standard Glaze (a deep mahogany brown color graduating into yellow) transitioned into a number of popular blue, green, and lavender glazes, following consumer trends. Rookwood’s prize-winning vellum glaze brought international recognition. Architectural tile production began in 1901, and examples can be seen in the New York subway stations. After 1915, production shifted to more mass-produced ware, “rich, heavy, and simple in color,” which allowed the pottery to survive through two World Wars and the Great Depression (Evans 1987:257). An astonishing “forty thousand glaze formulas were listed at the factory and more than five hundred glazes were in daily use” (Kovel and Kovel 1993:189). In 1956, the firm was moved to Mississippi and finally closed in 1967.
(Evans, Paul, 1987. Art Pottery of the United States. New York: Feingold and Lewis Publishing Corp.; Kovel, Ralph and Terry Kovel, 1993. Kovels’ American Art Pottery: The Collector’s Guide to Makers, Marks and Factory Histories. New York: Crown Publishers.)
About the Object:
This small Rookwood vase showcases the company’s “Mahogany Standard Glaze.” Although it had been producing objects with the distinctive gradient coloration since 1885, Rookwood only began referring to the glaze as their “Standard Glaze” in 1900. This process was comparatively expensive; it was technically challenging to achieve, and many of the pieces taken out of the kiln were defective. In the “Mahogany” version, the decorator airbrushed the slip yellow-tinted background onto a red clay body. Unlike traditional glaze decoration, which is actually a kind of glass, slip decoration is made from colored clay and adheres tightly to the clay surface onto which it is applied.
Like many of its counterparts, this vase features a floral motif. The trumpet flower on this vase was a popular flower in Victorian gardens and would have been easily recognized by its intended consumers, the rapidly growing American middle class.
The Trumpeteers. side 1: The Sun Didn't Shine; side 2: Lay Down My Heavy Burden (King 4363). 78 rpm. Side 1 was recorded in 1949. Side 2 was recorded in 1950.
