Cleveland Musical Instrument Company
Cleveland, Ohio
The Cleveland Trumpet
#5974 c.1928

Model: The Cleveland
Key: Bb/A
Length: 19"
Bell: 4.5"
Bore: 0.468"
Weight: 37 oz
Finish: satin gold w/burnished bell & engraving

Original cost c.1925 = $100 [$1,815 in 2025]
White's reduced sale price in 1928 = $61.50 [$1,143 in 2025]

While I never had much interest in the lower-priced Cleveland or American Standard models by White, I did hear that the original trumpets made by the Cleveland Musical Instrument Company were very good. A tarnished example came on the market in 2025 with the statement that it was silver-plated with a gold wash in the bell. From the photos, I could tell that this was gold-plated with some areas worn to expose the silver underneath. I surprisingly purchased this for very little and was very happy to find out that not only was it still in almost undamaged condition, the "MB" label next to the serial number that I thought was for medium bore actually turned out to be 0.468" large bore.

Here are some photos when it arrived. Except for a missing pull knob on the second slide, this was undamaged and all the slides moved easily.

All apart and ready for cleaning.

Ready for assembly! From the unusual plating wear on the right side, my conclusion is that this was played for many years by a lefty.

I can tell from working on hundreds of trumpets over the years that this was a high-quality build. Every threaded piece and every slide fits together perfectly.

The Cleveland Musical Instrument Company was formed in February of 1919 by James Sistek, a local instrument maker, and four others who were musicians in the area. According the the H.N. White history of the company published in their 1930 catalog, Cleveland had so many orders by 1923 that they contracted with White to build some for them. By 1925, White bought them out and moved them to a newer factory building on their site. They continued to keep Cleveland as a subsidiary until WWII, then merged as just a model name.

Here is an ad from 1920 showing the first trumpet design with the second valve slide straight out.

This ad from 1925 shows the newer design dating to early 1920. The second slide faces the rear and the Bb/A adjustment is built into the lower branch of the tuning slide.

This final ad from 1928 shows the third slide added and the new lower price. This matches my trumpet and shows that by then, they had moved to part of the White factory, yet retained their company name. This same ad appeared in 1930, yet the design shown in the White catalalog from 1929 shows the newer "Superior" model 603 design, which was slightly different. I am guessing that they just didn't update their ad.