HN White King Jumbo 1265

[MrBasseyPants]

OK that makes 6 1265's I have heard of......they're getting to be too common.....but it's the first brass one I have seen......

jc

[MrBasseyPants]

Plus the serial number puts it at an early 1925, possibly the first King Jumbo.

Valve section is definitely screwed up though, too far away from the body - had to have been a custom things by some person after the factory. Probably why a custom neck is needed.

It's the second King Jumbo I've seen in brass - Tim has one with a really fancy engraving of grapes/leaves on the inside of the bell.

So what six do you know of? Here's the ones I know of:
Purdue - Big Bertha (clearly the most famous and least used four valve)
MrBasseyPants (3v)
KiltieTuba (3v)
PurdueTubaPlayer (3v)
Tim (3v)
Mike's 26" bell (4v) - Chloe
Another guy that might have a four valve in NV
The one at the National Musical Instrument Museum in Vermillion (formerly Dale Hale's and used at the Disneyland parade) (3v)
IIRC Dan Oberloh has one tucked away from years ago (in need of repair) (3v)

...and this one makes ten.....you've mentioned all of the ones I know of....

I wish we knew how many were made.....although I am wondering if this list represents most that we're made or at least most that are left. I would have assumed that if King offered these as a product at least more than a dozen would be made. Maybe the total number is much much less than the 100 or so I thought might have been made (a total guess on my part).

It would be weird to think that the Conn jumbo production number dwarfed this....considering the Conn Jumbos are very rare as it is....

jc

[Dan Schultz]

..... HN White was probably trying to out-do CG Conn by making a larger production sousaphone - trying to become KING of the sousaphone ...

"Bigger is better" was the marketing hype of the time. All of the manufacturers were using names like 'Jumbo' and 'Giant' to describe their products even though in a great many of cases, it was just an ordinary horn with a bigger bell.

It's a shame that these manufacturers didn't think enough of their products and history to preserve serial number lists.

[Tom Coffey]

I like threads like this--there is a lot of history and scholarship here, as well as hands on experience!

[Timswisstuba]

The bell on my King sousa sports a bell of (only) 30 inches which is 1 inch smaller than the one advertised on Ebay. To give you a reference of size, the bell on the ground is a 20 inch miraphone bell.

Timsullivanking.jpg