The York Band Instrument Company was a musical instrument manufacturer in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

History

James Warren York James Warren York (more commonly known as J. W. York) was a musician, businessman, business owner and musical instrument innovator. York was born November 24, 1839, in Exeter, New Hampshire, and died February 9, 1927, in Los Angeles, California. ...

was a former army musician and played professionally in the Grand Rapids, Michigan theaters. He eventually decided to open his own instrument repair business and set up on the ground floor of a Monroe Avenue building in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1882. The early company originally started from a merger of two partnerships between "Smith and York" in 1883 and "York and Holton" in 1885. Together they were eventually reformed into the "J.W.York and Company". In 1887, Frank York, J.W. York's eldest son joined the business and it was named "York & Son". In 1898, Charles York, the youngest son joined the company which prompted him to again rename the business "York & Sons". The business went through various name changes ("J.W. York", "J.W. York and Sons", "J.W. York Band Instrument Co", "J.W. York Instrument Co.") before finally settling on "York Band Instrument Co". By 1890, York was operating a successful instrument plant on Canal St. by importing instruments and producing a few original cornets and trombones. Newly designed instruments were added each year and in 1898, the company was manufacturing a complete line of cupped mouthpiece brass instruments. Frank Holton, Henry Martin Jr., Henry Martin Sr., and F.A. Reynolds, pioneers of band instrument manufacturing, were all once employed at the early York factories at 3,5, and 7 North Ionia Avenue in Grand Rapids. The factories were later relocated to the old Raniville Power building at the corner of Campau Ave and Lyon St. In 1908, a plant at 1600 South Division Avenue was built and lasted until it was closed in 1971. In 1913, rights were sold to original partners James and John Duffy and a stock company was formed. In 1916 J.W. York retired from the company. The company was officially changed to York Band Instrument Company in 1926 when the York family relinquished all control, although the "York Band Instrument Company" name was used in promotional publications starting in the early 1920s after J.W. had retired. The company had various subsidiaries and used the proprietary name "Grand Rapids Band Instrument Company" and "USA Line" for their mass-produced and lower priced student quality horns. Additionally, York produced various stencil horns under the names of "Hallmark", "Acme", "Wolverine", and "Pioneer".

The "York" Sound

The York Band Instrument Co manufactured a full line of woodwind, string, percussion, and brass instruments which included trumpets, cornets, horns, trombones, helicons, baritone horns, sousaphones, and tubas. The brass instruments made before 1940 were known to have superior craftsmanship, ease of enunciation, intonation, and timbre, and were widely sought after by concert, brass, and military bands. Many brass York instruments are still presently used, possessing sound qualities that are still prized by brass musicians.Dundas, R. J. (1986). Twentieth Century Brass Musical Instruments in the United States. Queen City Brass Publications. p. 27. . The United States Army's Quarter Master Corps and the United States Navy historically used York instruments and still maintain them in their possession. Two legendary York CC tubas were originally commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra in the 1930s. The tubas were later sold to Arnold Jacobs and the

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenu ...

at different times and used by subsequent tubists in their orchestra. These tubas have become the arch-

prototypes A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and software programming. A prototype is generally used to ...

for as many as six modern tuba designs because of their excellent intonation, tone, timbre, and craftsmanship. These tubas are also the basis for the legendary "York tuba sound" that many tubists try to emulate.

Decline

After experiencing unparalleled growth through innovation in much of the early 20th century, the York company fell victim to the Great Depression of the 1930s and was purchased by Carl Fischer for $300,000 in December 1940. This purchase relegated York Band Instruments to being a subsidiary of Carl Fischer. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

the company switched to the manufacturing of

munitions Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

. After the war, York produced student instruments at the Grand Rapids factories. The name York sometimes became a stamp on stencil horns from other manufacturers as Carl Fischer's ownership outsourced work. Higher quality instruments were transferred to the West German company Boehm Meinl as the "York Master" line. By 1964 the York company was out of business. In 1970, Carl Fischer sold the York brand to the New York-based Tolchin Instruments, Incorporated. Tolchin Instruments closed the original Grand Rapids factory in 1971. After years of mismanagement Tolchin accumulated an unmanageable $24 million debt. The York brand was eventually sold to Boosey & Hawkes in 1976.

References

;;General references
Sources
:: J.W. York and Sons :: York Band Instrument Company :: Grand Rapids Band Instrument Company :: USA Line ;;''

The Music Trades ''The Music Trades'' is a -year-old American trade magazine that covers a broad spectrum of music and music commerce, domestically and abroad. Founded in New York City in 1890, it has been based in Englewood, New Jersey, since the mid-1970s. ''Th ...

'' # "The Two Martins," ''

,'' Vol 24, No. 10, p. 39, 1902 # "Give the Boys the Credit That is Due Them," ''

,'' Vol. 11, No. 22, p. 51, June 3, 1905 # "J. W York and Sons," ''

,'' Vol 23, No. 18, p. 41, 1902 # "Latest York Catalog," ''

,'' Vol 24, No. 18, p. 47, 1902 # "York Entertains Holton," ''

,'' Vol. 24, No. 4, p. 38, 1902 # "Attempt to Burn York Plant," ''

,'' Vol. 24, No. 16, p. 25, 1902 # "J. W. York and Sons to Move," ''

,'' Vol. 26, No. 2, July 11, 1903, p. 41 # "York and Sons New Cornet," ''

,'' Vol. 26, No. 4, July 25, 1903, p. 40 # "Secure Larger Quarters," ''

,'' Vol. 26, No. 8, August 22, 1903, p. 42 # "J. W. York and Sons Rushed," ''

,'' Vol. 26, No. 9, August 29, 1903, p. 41 # "The House of York in New York," ''

,'' Vol. 26, No. 9, November 7, 1903, p. 4 # "George W. Jackson Now with J. W. York and Sons," ''

,'' Vol. 27, No. 18, April 30, 1904, p. 43 # "Heavy York Band Instrument Business," ''

,'' Vol. 29, No. 10, p. 50, March 11, 1905 # "House of York Spreads Out," ''

,'' Vol. 30, No. 2, p. 49, July 15, 1905 # "Heavy Demand for Band Instruments," ''

,'' Vol. 33, No. 20, p. 41, May 18, 1907 ;;Other sources # "The Instruments of the Band," Booklet published by York, 1927 # York Band Instrument Catalog, June 1, 1928 #40 # "York Instrument Company, formed in 1882, A Leader," ''Grand Rapids Herald,'' February 9, 1937 # "York Company Sold, Will Expand," ''Grand Rapids Herald'', December 5, 1940 # York Band Instrument Catalog and price list (also strings catalog), June 1, 1973 # "News of Music; Buffet, French Clarinet Marker, Sold," by

Bernard Holland Bernard Holland (born 1933) is an American music critic. He served on the staff of '' The New York Times'' from 1981 until 2008 and held the post of chief music critic from 1995, contributing 4,575 articles to the newspaper. He then became the Nat ...

, ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

, July 16, 1981 ;Specific {{Reflist Brass instrument manufacturing companies Manufacturing companies based in Grand Rapids, Michigan Manufacturing companies established in 1883 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1970 Musical instrument manufacturing companies of the United States American companies disestablished in 1970

History

The "York" Sound

Decline

See also

References