Term: Frank Holton Company
Definition:
manufacturer of musical instruments, Elkhorn, Wis.; Holton is the oldest continually operating wind instrument company in the United States. Frank Holton, formerly the first trombonist in John Phillip Sousa's band, opened an instrument shop in Chicago in 1898. His initial success came from a formula for trombone slide-oil, but he soon began experimenting with instrument design. The company continued to expand, producing several models of brasswinds, as well as percussion instruments, and in 1917, Holton moved his company to Elkorn, Wis. In 1964, the Holton Co. was bought by Leblanc, a division of Conn-Selmer, which is itself a subsidiary of Steinway Musical Instruments Inc. In 2008, the company archives were donated to the National Music Museum at the Univ. of South Dakota, who may be able to answer questions about specific Holton instruments.
[Source: Turning Points in Wisconsin History]
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