Early Benge Purchase Dates

(Chicago, Burbank & Los Angeles)

(updated 1/15/10)

1. When was my Benge made?

Always a slightly tricky question, of course. Although Benge trumpets were always in demand it's
probable that some sat around for awhile after being made. I'm choosing to date the trumpets by their
purchase date. In the past, estimates have been made by others using a probable rate of manufacture, but the sample was small. I've gathered receipts and oral history for a number of horns and I'll list only
the horns for which I have solid (or fairly solid) data. Hopefully, we'll continue to fill in the blanks.

A number of years ago, Benge dealer Tom Lovitt listed his sales on the old Benge Nut page. I'm
listing selected horns from his data, as it's clear that he had a number of Benges available and, of
course, they didn't sell in chronological order.

One other thing that throws off a logical sequence of numbers for the Burbank Benges is the fact that
it took some time before Elden Benge hit his stride. After the 1953 move it took quite a while for him
to get the personnel in place. As he stated in a September 1956 letter to Ron Modell, "Until this year,
I had only screened out one expert helper after having tried the best available but more recently I
have acquired two more men and I can now say that their work is the best I have ever had in my
shop." In October he wrote this to Modell, "My new helper on valve fitting is doing excelent (sic)
and because that has been the bottleneck we have quite a few trumpets almost ready for that work
which means that we should be able to get more trumpets finished during the next three months than
ever before during a like period."

The transition from Chicago to Burbank has gotten less murky: the Engle letter confirms that
Elden Benge was still selling trumpets in June 1953 in Chicago, and a November 1953 letter
from Benge to Earl Quinn regarding #3353 was sent from Burbank.

Click here to return to the Chicago Benge home page.

Chicago (1935-1953)
#500 - 1935
#513 - 1935
#526 - 1936
#747 - July 1940
#989 - 1942
#2015 - May 1946
#2055 - July 1946
#2124 - 1946
#2202 - 1946
#2228 - May 1947
#2403 - @1949
#2495 - @1948
#2521 – 1948/49
#2575 - 1949/50
#2600 - 1949
#2727 - January 1950
#2738 - 1950
#2755 - 1949/50
#2821 - @1950
#2903 - 1950
#3077 - 1951
#3086 - 1951
#3099 - 1951
#3232 - 1952/53
#3245 - 1952/53
#3254 - 1953
#3289 - 1952
#3317 - June 1953
#3327 - fall 1953
#3345 - 1953

Large Bore Sequence
#1501 - late 1946
#1532 - 1947
#1578 - 1950
#1630 - 1949/50

Burbank (1953-1971)
#3353 - November 1953
#3361 - fall 1953
#3384 - 1953
#3385 - December 1953
#3491 - 1955
#3601 - March 1956
#3735 - September 1956
#3763 - February 1957
#3781 - 1956
#3909 - August 1957
#3982 - December 1957
#4021 - June 1958
#4095 - June 1959
#4194 - 1959
#4274 - @1961
#4294 - 1960
#4369 - July 1960
#4373 - April 1963
#4472 - November 1960
#4566 - January 1962
#4578 - 1960
#4586 - early 1961
#4604 - May 1961
#4608 - January 1962
#4720 - September 1962
#4895 - May 1963
#4899 - October 1963
#5045 - 1963
#5161 - @1962/63
#5173 - October 1963
#5210 - December 1963
#5320 - 1964
#5326 - @1962
#5425 - October 1964
#5463 - November 1964
#5587 - 1964
#5714 - 1965
#5859 - February 1966
#5976 - 1966
#6231 - @1967
#6298 - 1964 or 1965
#6339 - 1967
#6398 - summer 1966
#6421 - 1966
#6435 - 1967
#6636 - December 1968
#7296 - 1969
#7481 - May 1969
#7530 - February 1970

#7576 - 1969
#7610 - 1969
#7640 - 1969
#7659 - 1969
#7721 - 1969
#7814 - 1969/70
#7849 - fall 1973
#7878 - 1969
#7899 - spring 1970
#8014 - 1970
#8121 - 1970
#8276 - 1970

Burbank (1970-71)
(no street address)
#8282 - 1970

Large Bore Sequence
#1768 - November 1960
#1804 - 1964/1965

Los Angeles (1971-83)
#8425 - 1972
#8448 - late 71/early 72
#8612 - 1973
#8803 - December 1972
#8826 - February 1972
#9164 - fall 1972
#9184 - 1971/72
#9227 - 1972
#9518 - 1972
#10138 - 1972
#10356 - 1972
#10536 - 1973
#11191 - March 1973
#11909 - 1973

#12134 - 1974
#12519 - 1974
#12535 - 1974
#12570 - 1974
#12808 - 1974
#13668 - 1974
#13720 - October 1974
#13857 - 1975
#14851 - 1977
#16758 - 1976
#17200 - 1975
#18311 - 1976
#18320 - 1976
#18472 - 1976
#18956 - late 1975
#19004 - 1976
#19286 - 1976
#19804 - summer 1976
#20800 - summer 1977
#20886 - January 1977
#21467 - 1977
#21796 - 1977
#23677 - 1977
#26088 - 1978
#26557 - 1979
#28634 - 1979
#28815 - 1979
#29534 - 1979
#30565 - 1981
#30655 - 1979
#30662 - 1979
#31450 - April 1979
#31837 - 1980
#35679 - 1980
#38060 - August 1981
#38695 - March 1983
#38733 - Sept. 1981
#40787 - 1982
#40956 - 1983
#41114 - 1983
#41431 - early 1982