Miniature trumpet, B-flat
Date1931 ca.
Place MadeCleveland, Ohio, United States, North America
ModelLiberty Model
Serial No.134251
SignedEngraved on bell: KING / LIBERTY MODEL [superimposed on staff with treble clef and note c1] / MADE BY / THE / H. N. WHITE CO. / CLEV, D / O.MarkingsStamped on second valve casing: “KING” / MADE BY / H.N.WHITE / CLE/’D, O. / 134251
Stamped on valve casings and upper valve caps, respectively: 1, 2, 3
DescriptionSilver-plated brass, bell solid silver, mother-of-pearl finger buttons, single loop, main tuning slide at first bow, three Périnet valves (1, ½, 1½), bottom-sprung, aligment by one key on brass pistons with copper-alloy plating, windway 3-2-1.
Small silver mouthpiece, stamped: H. N. WHITE CO. / M / 0.
This trumpet is exactly half the size of a standard Liberty model B-flat trumpet (for example NMM 6802). King made these miniature trumpets, of which at least 20 are extant, from 1928 to 1932, probably for advertising purposes. However, they are fully playable instruments, and some were used for performances of baroque repertoire, for example the Second Brandenburg Concerto played by trumpeter Louis Davidson (1912-1999) with the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra in 1943. The pitch is the same as a 2¼-foot B-flat piccolo trumpet.
DimensionsHeight: 248 mm
Tube length: 621 mm
Bore diameter (initial, minimum, tuning slide, valve slides): 8 mm, 7.5 mm, 7.9 mm, 7.9 mm (0.311 inches)
Bell diameter: 57 mm
ProvenancePurchased in 1997 from Steve Dillon, Woodbridge, New Jersey.
Published ReferencesKlaus, Sabine. “The King Liberty Trumpet in B-flat divided in half!” ITG Journal; Historical Instrument Window, Vol. 1, January, 2007, p. 54.
Credit LineJoe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection, 1999
Object number07301
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