The turn of the century foretold a new age in brasswind instrument craftsmanship when Frank Holton opened his third-floor two-room Chicago shop in 1898. Formerly first trombonist in Sousa’s band, Holton achieved initial success with his revolutionary slide-oil formula, Electric Oil, which is still popular today. Soon Holton began experiments to improve brasswind instrument designs.
By 1900, the Frank Holton Company was producing several models of trombones, cornets, trumpets and euphoniums, as well as percussion instruments. The company continued to expand, and in 1917 Holton moved his company to Elkhorn, Wisconsin, where it has remained as the country’s oldest continually operating wind instrument company.
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