Henderson N. White Co. Boehm System Clarinet: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

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 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.”

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date made: 1930-1940
• maker: Henderson N. White Co.
• Object Name: clarinet
• Physical Description: brass (overall material)
• Physical Description: nickel silver (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 23 5/8 in x 3 1/16 in; 60.0075 cm x 7.77875 cm
• Measurements: overall: 23 3/4 in x 3 in; 60.325 cm x 7.62 cm
• place made: United States: Ohio, Cleveland
• ID Number: 1990.0366.01
• catalog number: 1990.0366.01
• accession number: 1990.0366
• Credit Line: Gift of Russell C. Wilde
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.