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RE: my old clarinet

Author: Lelia
Date: 1999-07-10 19:56

I believe Holtons have a reputation as solidly-made but not exceptionally good. I have two old Holton catalogues, from 1932 and from about 1941 (undated, but it's clear from the text that the USA was on the verge of entering WWII). I also have a Holton Collegiate pamphlet dated 1931. The Collegiate is not covered in the catalogs but is mentioned there as the student model. In all three of these publications, the company states that its wooden clarinets were "made for us" in France. The metal clarinets apparently were made at the Holton factory in Elkhorn, Wisconsin.

According the the 1931 Collegiate pamphlet, "Holton Collegiate band instruments are popular-priced editions of Holton Originals and embody the traditional Holton quality of tone, tuning and ease of playing. They come only in Finish D which is silver plated sand blast finish with inside of bell gold plated and hand burnished throughout." However, I have seen a Holton Collegiate wooden clarinet for sale (date unknown), so these specifications did change over time.

The 1931 Holton catalogue lists the Holton Model 220 "New Professional" Bb metal clarinet as Boehm system with 17 keys and 6 rings, with a tuning ring (a screw device to lengthen or shorten the neck). It was available in Finish D (nickel silver with silver plate and gold wash in the bell) for $95, Finish H (sandblasted gold-plated) for $150 or Finish (polished gold plated with sandblasted engraving) for $175. These models were promoted as professional clarinets, but I don't believe they were accepted as such by professional clarinetists.

The 1941-ish catalog lists the Holton Model 221for $75 as a 17-key, 6-ring instrument made of nickel silver with silver plate with gold wash in the bell; and the Model 223 as the same but with 17 keys and 7 rings, to provide the forked fingering for Eb/Bb, for $85. This catalogue does not state whether these instruments are intended for professional or student use. Generally when a catalogue makes no claims that instruments are professional quality, that means they're student quality.

I have no personal experience with Holton metal clarinets, but Holton instruments in general were pretty solidly made, though not up to top-quality professional standards. As a rule (for companies other than Holton, too), anything in the model name indicating a college, university, etc., actually means the instrument was being marketed as a step-up model for younger kids who would find such a name attractive because it made them feel more grown-up.

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