Holton Alto Saxophone made in Japan / 033198

For sale in fair condition this alto saxophone made in Japan by the famous Frank Holton. The low B flat and C needs maintenance but everything else is working just greatly. Has scratches and a small dent or two but the instrument is still in great condition besides the two notes that need attention.

Frank E. Holton was born March 10, 1858, in Allegan, Michigan to farmers Otis (b. 1827) and Hanna A. (b. 1829) Holton. He grew up with three sisters: Emma E. Holton, Alice Holton and Leona Holton.By the time he was 34, Frank Holton was an accomplished trombone player and principal trombone of the Sousa Band, a role that would later be filled by Arthur Pryor. In 1885 he had partnered with James Warren York in York & Holton, before he established his own company in 1898.

Frank Holton's wife Florence was a music teacher. They had no children. Frank Holton, though not an instrument maker himself, expanded his company to manufacture instruments which was his occupation until retiring at age 80.

Frank Holton's first business venture on his own was a small rented shop with a desk, two counters and two chairs that he had to paint himself at Clark and Madison streets in Chicago, in 1898, where he sold used instruments and his own formula slide oil for trombone. Unable to make the rent at times, Holton was known to pawn instruments at a shop on Clark Street between 1898 and 1900.

By 1907, a skilled horn maker had been hired, and the production of Holton instruments required the construction of a factory on the West Side of Chicago. It would be home to Frank Holton & Company for only a decade.

In April 1918, Holton opened a factory in Elkhorn, Wisconsin moving over 200 employees and 85 carloads of machinery from Chicago. The city had lured Holton to Elkhorn through the efforts of a group of local businessmen, who, acting under city mandate, built the new factory which was turned over to Holton and Co. upon their arrival. That building remained as the core of the Holton factory until the decision in 2008 to merge Holton horn production with King and Conn instruments in Eastlake, Ohio.

While the factory had been paid for by the city of Elkhorn, the cost of training skilled labor resulted in the first profits there not being seen until 1920.

Along with machinery and employees, Holton brought the company band to Elkhorn which would quickly merge with the storied Elkhorn Band, which had been founded in 1840 by Charles Seelye only 3 years after the town of Elkhorn itself. The band had served as the 12th Regimental Band from 1861 to 1864 during the Civil War.

Already building a full line of high-end brass instruments, Holton recognized the growth of music in the schools and began selling student-line instruments built by other workshops under the trade names Pertin and Beaufort. Holton also began production of saxophones in the late Chicago days and would remain in production of such instruments into the post-World War II era. Holton saxophones never enjoyed the reputation or sales of their competitors C.G. Conn, Buescher, Martin, or King, but generate interest for the idiosyncratic keywork on some early models. In the early 1930s the Holton Collegiate line of student horns was introduced, which would last through the 1970s. After 2004 the defunct Collegiate line was re-introduced by Conn-Selmer under their Holton brand, again targeting a balance of quality and price suitable for school music programs.

After retiring, at age 82 Frank Holton sold the company to employee William Kull. The company was run from that point forward by sales manager Elliot Kehl, though Kull would retain the title CEO until he died in 1944.

During World War II, the company performed defense work, as did most all instrument manufacturers. Following the war, Elliot Kehl secured a controlling interest in the company and began development of several new products including the Farkas Model French horn and a new line of saxophones. The Stratodyne was Holton's top line saxophone from 1948 to 1958 and the last model sold as a professional saxophone by Holton.

Holton became the supplier for Leblanc's Vito line of student-line brass-winds and (briefly) saxophones in 1951. Leblanc acquired Holton in 1964 and phased out the Collegiate saxophone line in favor of their Vito-branded instruments. The Collegiate brand for brass-winds was terminated in 1980. From 1971 on, Leblanc used the Martin Committee brand on some Holton model brass-winds

Under Conn-Selmer

Leblanc was acquired by Conn-Selmer in 2004. In 2008, the Elkhorn factory was closed and production was moved to the Eastlake, Ohio plant that produces King and C.G. Conn brass-winds. Conn-Selmer currently produces Holton-branded cornets, trumpets, french horns, trombones, and slide and valve oil.

The alto saxophone is a woodwind instrument that was invented by Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax (1814-1894) in the 1840s. Sax wanted to create an instrument that combined the best qualities of brass and woodwind instruments, and that could be heard outdoors and in concerts. He based his design on experiments with an ophicleed, a brass instrument with keys, and a base clarinet mouthpiece. The French government patented the saxophone in 1846, but Sax may have invented it as early as 1838.

 The alto saxophone is a conical tube with a narrow end that has a single-reed mouthpiece attached. It has a U-bend and a slightly flared bell and is made of drawn brass. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭, which is a major 6th below the written note, and uses the treble clef. It's smaller than the B♭ tenor saxophone but larger than the B♭ soprano. The alto saxophone is the most common saxophone and is used in many different styles of music, including jazz, concert bands, chamber music, and marching bands. It has a wide dynamic range and tonal qualities similar to the human voice, which makes it a prominent solo instrument in jazz. Charlie Parker, who often played the alto saxophone, is considered by many to be the greatest saxophone player in history.

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