Martin Band Instrument Company
The Martin Band Instrument Company was a manufacturer of musical instruments in Elkhart, Indiana .
history
John Henry Martin and the first "Martin Company"
The "Martin Band Instrument Company" was actually a re-emergence of an older company that was founded in 1865 in Chicago by John Henry Martin (* February 24, 1835, † November 25, 1910), a German immigrant from Dresden . He was probably the first manufacturer of musical instruments there.
In 1871 his company, the "Martin Company", was destroyed by fire. In 1876 he moved to Elkhart, where he became the sixth employee at CG Conn . Martin made no more attempts to start a new company.
Henry Charles Martin and the "Martin Band Instrument Company"
John Henry Martin's eldest son Henry Charles Martin (1866–1927) worked for Conn from 1890. Between 1905 and 1910 he founded the "Martin Band Instrument Company" with three of his brothers. In 1912 Francis Compton bought a large stake in the company and held a position on the company's board of directors from 1912 to 1917. Charles Henry Martin remained managing director until 1917. From 1922 he worked for Buescher . It is known from a letter from 1923 that Martin was planning to set up a third company, but he had to quit Buescher in 1924 for health reasons.
The company from 1912 to 1971
Over the next forty years the management of the company changed frequently. During this time the " Martin Committee " trumpet was introduced. In 1961, Paul E. Richards merged Martin, EK Blessing, and FA Reynolds into the Richards Music Corporation . This association dissolved in 1964. The rights to the Martin brand were taken over by Wurlitzer and the Martin production facility was transferred to Wurlitzer in Elkhart. In 1971 Wurlitzer sold the rights to Martin to Leblanc and closed the factory. Leblanc decided to continue using the Martin brand name for some instruments.
1971-2007
Leblanc used the name Martin for the "Committee" trumpet and the "Urbie Green" trombone until 2007.
Web links
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- Dean McMakin: Musical Instrument Manufacturing in Elkhart, Indiana. (unpublished manuscript, 1987, available in the Elkhart Public Library)
- Elkhart city directories (available in the Elkhart Public Library)
- The Elkhart Truth, Saturday, November 26, 1910, obituary notice of John Henry Martin
- Elkhart Daily Review, Saturday November 26, 1910, obituary notice of John Henry Martin
- The Elkhart Truth, Tuesday November 8, 1927, obituary notice of Henry Charles Martin