Antique Musical Instruments/1907 Holton Special

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Expert: - 3/16/2009


Question

Holton Special
I have acquired an old Holton Special trombone with the serial number 3874.  I did a little research and found that it was made in 1907 (is this correct?).  I bought the trombone for cheap.  It now has been restored and is very playable.  There are a few small dings that weren't able to be removed and the silver looks great now that it has been polished and all the tarnish removed.  The slide works very well. In fact, I play it whenever possible to perform old Arthur Pryor solos or just for use in a jazz setting as a backup to my 3b.

I already know roughly what I can sell it for, I'd just like to know if there is any significance of owning this trombone and if it is something I should hold on to?  I was offered quite a bit, so I have been tossing back and forth the idea of selling it.  Any Suggestions?

Thanks.

Answer
I agree with 1907 as the manufacture date.  That would be a good 'Pryor solo' horn!  In Holton's early days, he only had a model name on one instrument - the trombone, the others were simply Holtons.  His first trombones were Specials.  There are a lot of Specials out there.  On a 1926 price list, two trombones are listed, a Special starting at $70 and a Revelation at $80.

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Kenton Scott

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Please note: My area is BRASS instruments, not other wind, string or percussion instruments. I will provide information on antique, obscure and out of production BRASS instruments. 1) Please don't ask for evaluations, I'll not provide them on this site. 2) I am often asked very similar questions, so I'd invite you to first check on Horn-u-Copia.net. Much of the information I have garnered about this topic, I have posted on this WEB site.

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I perform in several historical bands, have informally researched the area, repair brass instruments, and operate a Forum dedicated to the topic at http://horn-u-copia.net

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B.S. Ed, M.S.

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