E. K. Blessing is a manufacturer of

wind instrument A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube) in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at or near the end of the resonator. The pitc ...

s and accessories. The company was founded in 1906 by Emil Karl Blessing. Located in Elkhart, Indiana, their products include

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...

flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B, though some ...

mellophone The mellophone is a brass instrument typically pitched in the key of F, though models in E, D, C, and G (as a bugle) have also historically existed. It has a conical bore, like that of the euphonium and flugelhorn. The mellophone is used as the m ...

s, euphoniums,

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

s, and mouthpieces for brass instruments.

History

The company's founder was Emil Karl Blessing, Sr. (b Oppelsbohn,

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...

24 April 1880; d Elkhart 24 Sept 1954). He immigrated to America in 1896 and came to Elkhart. His first experience in the industry was working for Buescher, and it is said that he helped Gus Buescher design his first piston valves. Blessing worked for the

Mennonite Publishing House The Mennonite Publishing House was a non-profit publishing operation in Scottdale, Pennsylvania, controlled by the Mennonite Publication Board of the (old) Mennonite Church. It served as the primary publisher of the denomination's periodicals, book ...

in 1899 and 1900. He then went to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and in 1903 his name appears on a payroll sheet for Frank Holton. During his early years in the US he also worked for several tool and die firms. In 1906 Blessing returned to Elkhart and began making musical instruments in a small garage. For many years the operation was quite small. By 1926 the operation was officially known as the Emil K. Blessing Company. By 1936 it had become known as the E. K. Blessing Band Instrument Company. In 1940 it had incorporated, and in 1942 the name was changed to the less cumbersome E. K. Blessing Company, Inc. Emil was president of the company up to his death in 1954, and he was succeeded by his son E. Karl Blessing, Jr. In 1961 Paul E. Richards merged Blessing with the

Martin Band Instrument Company The Martin Band Instrument Company was a musical instrument manufacturer in Elkhart, Indiana. The firm produced band instruments, including trumpets, cornets, fluegelhorns, trombones, and saxophones from 1908 through the 1960s. The brand was acqu ...

and F. A. Reynolds to form the "Roundtable of Music Craftsmen" (RMC). Karl Blessing remained plant manager during the RMC years. The arrangement collapsed in 1964, and Blessing reverted to its previous identity. Merle O. Johnson, who married one of Blessing's daughters, became the new president. For many years Blessing made student line brass instruments and marketed student model saxophones from other manufacturers under their own name. Merle Johnson later sold the company to his son Randy Johnson, and in 2009, Randy sold E. K. Blessing Inc. to Verne Q. Powell Flutes, Inc. In 2010, under the ownership of Verne Q. Powell Flutes Inc., E. K. Blessing has completely redesigned its student trumpets (BTR-1266, BTR-1277), created a new line of intermediate trumpets (BTR-1460) and introduced the first truly professional trumpet made by E. K. Blessing since the 1960s (BTR-1580). In 2015, E. K. Blessing Brass was sold to

St. Louis Music St. Louis Music (SLM) is a manufacturing company, manufacturer and distributor of musical instruments, accessories, and equipment. SLM distributes products from over 260 music products industry brands, is the corporate owner of several string ins ...

. The almost new Elkhart plant was closed and the craftsman laid-off. In 2018, the company was endorsed by Doug Woolverton.

References

{{Reflist

Sources

Elkhart city directories (available Elkhart Public Library)McMakin, Dean "Musical Instrument Manufacturing in Elkhart, Indiana" (unpublished typescript, 1987, available Elkhart Public Library)The Elkhart Truth, Saturday 25 September 1954, obituary of E.K. BlessingInterviews with Blessing employees

External links

company website
Manufacturing companies established in 1906 Musical instrument manufacturing companies of the United States Companies based in Elkhart County, Indiana 1906 establishments in Indiana