Storage case for a saxophone owned by Charlie Parker.: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A reddish-brown storage case for a saxophone owned by Charlie Parker. The leather-bound case has brass hinges and clasps. The top of the case has an engraved metal inlay in the bottom left corner that reads [KING / THE WORLD'S FINEST / THE H. N. WHITE CO. / CLEVELAND, OHIO]. The front of the case has a red leather handle at center below a metal clasp. The clasp at center is not made of brass and is a different style than the others found on the case. A brass nameplate directly below the clasp at center and underneath the handle is engraved with [CHARLIE PARKER]. On either side of the handle and name plate is a hinged clasp with a lock. Engraved on each clasp is [KING]. The back and left sides of the case metal knobs for the case to rest on. The right side of the case has a handle. The interior of the case is covered in red velvet. A yellow and white stripped towel and a black felt cloth with gold thread were found in the case as well as a small interior case (2019.10.2). The small interior case fits in the lower right corner of the larger case. It is also leather-bound with a red velvet lined interior. Inside the smaller case are two neck straps, a cleaning cloth attached to a cord and a box of used reeds.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1947
• Manufactured by: H. N. White Company, American, 1893 - 1965
• Used by: Charlie Parker, American, 1920 - 1955
• Owned by: Charlie Parker, American, 1920 - 1955
• Type: cases (lock components)
• Type: saxophones
• Medium: wood, leather, brass (alloy)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (2019.10.2.1): 7 1/16 × 13 × 27 3/16 in. (18 × 33 × 69 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (2019.10.2.2): 3 7/8 × 8 1/16 × 13 5/16 in. (9.8 × 20.5 × 33.8 cm)
• Place made: Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Composers (Musicians)
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Object number: 2019.10.2.1-.2
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.