You won’t see a lot of Pepper instruments out in the world these days. All told, the company only manufactured instruments for less than 30 years. During that time, however, Pepper led the way in innovation, creating new accessories, perfecting techniques, and even inventing a new instrument.
While we are not known for our instruments today, manufacturing and sales of brass, string, woodwind, and percussion instruments and accessories were a key part of the foundation of J.W. Pepper.
Pepper began factory operations in the early 1880s with the Superior First Class line of instruments. This line was made in collaboration with Henri Distin, a celebrated brass instrument manufacturer out of London, England. Distin continued working with Pepper throughout the 1880s and ‘90s, contributing to some of the most popular lines of instruments. In 1888, Pepper also brought in Alexander LeForrestier to be the superintendent of bell making. The combined efforts of these experts and J.W. Pepper himself earned the company several high honors over the decade that followed, including the highest medal and diploma for craftsmanship at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1883.
During that period, the company was a bastion of innovation. Between 1880 and 1900, the company filed a number of different patents for both instruments and musical accessories. In 1892, Pepper acquired the Excelsior Drum Factory – another manufacturer in the city of Philadelphia – which led to the well-known Excelsior trade name. Pepper produced one of the earliest drum pedals, patenting the design in 1894. The concept of double drumming – that is, playing a bass and a snare at the same time – was in its infancy at the time, and Pepper’s pedal contributed to what has now become a percussion standard.
Perhaps Pepper’s most recognizable creation was a modified helicon called the sousaphone. Conceived by John Philip Sousa himself, the instrument was originally intended for concert use. Sousa expressed a desire for a bass instrument with an upturned bell in a conversation with J.W. Pepper, who named the instrument after the famous band leader out of gratitude. The very first sousaphone ever created now resides in Pepper’s corporate headquarters in Exton, Pennsylvania. The story of how it disappeared and made its way back home is a fascinating one.
In 1910, J.W. Pepper & Son ceased producing instruments and shifted entirely to importing them from Europe. While the time Pepper spent manufacturing was short in comparison to the company’s 140-year history, those days have nevertheless left a deep imprint on both the company and the musical world.
See more on our 140th Anniversary Interactive Timeline.
Read the rest of our A History of Service Series:
I have an antique “bowl back” Mandolin in very good condition except for 1 broken string. I am trying to find a value as I would like to sell it. I know JW Pepper only made instruments for a short time. This Mandolin would date to pre 1910.
Can you give me some guidance on this please?? Greatly appreciated.
Hi Lyn, is this a Pepper mandolin?
I have a horn that is J.W. Pepper but the serial number is not listed anywhere I have found. It has been in my family for a very long time and I was wanting to get some more information and a possible value on it.
I’m just wondering if my little old guitar is worth anything ? It only has a sticker that says PRFmeir and j.w pepper on it out of Philadelphia n Chicago
Hi Mary, thank you for contacting us. Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of information for you. The Pepper guitars were made by an unknown third party, perhaps the Martin Guitar Company, but we don’t know that for sure. You may want to try contacting Martin.
There’s a J.W. Pepper “Keystone” banjo at auction on eBay right now! (9/21/2020, 7:46 PM, eBay item no. 133525944893.)
Would you be able to furnish information on a Pepper piccolo that I am sure is more than 100 years old. It has a very faint inscription:
J.W. Pepper & Son
Philada, PA.
PREMIE… (maybe PREMIER)
D
LP
I have been told by a museum that Pepper did not manufacture woodwinds, but ordered them from Europe. In that case, would the manufacturer be known? Also, was there a mouthpiece? My plan is to mount and frame this instrument for a dear friend whose grandmother played it as a girl., probably in the early 1900s. Would you have advice on cleaning it?
Thank you so much.
Hi Beverley, thank you for your question, and what a lovely gesture for your friend. The “Premier” name was trademarked in November of 1891. The name of the company was changed to J.W. Pepper in 1910 so the instrument was made post-1910. In 1918, Pepper stopped selling band instruments, so the time frame is most likely 1910-1918. We would suggest connecting with an antique instrument dealer to learn how to best care for the instrument.
I just acquired a very old JW Pepper snare drum. It looks to be 4 x 16. The kick drum is 24 x 8. Would like to find some information out about these bad boys. They still have all the original hardware original calfskin has really really cool.
Hi Rhett, there’s a bit more information here: https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_606860 Thanks for commenting, and enjoy your new drum!
Hello!
I have a J.W. Pepper instrument very similar, but not quite the same, as the one shown at the bottom right corner of the first page of https://www.brasshistory.net/Pepper%20History.pdf.
The inscription on mine reads:
J.W.Pepper
IMPORTER
Philadelphia
-396-
The two hyphens I include here represent two symbols I can’t reproduce—sort of upside down Ts with lines through them. Is this the serial number — 396?
This instrument belonged to my grandfather, who was born in early 1890s.
Do you have any idea where this instrument fits in the Pepper story? I appreciate any insights you may have.
Hi David, thanks for your comment. We don’t have any knowledge about your instrument, but you may find some info from the Smithsonian: https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search?edan_q=Pepper%20brass&edan_local=1 If you’re interested in a valuation, you could try: https://mearto.com/musical-instruments
I have a J W Pepper & Sons baritone horn. I thought I saw somewhere on it the date 1893. But now cannot find a date. It plays but is hard to precisely tune. Any info would be appreciated. My dad won it years ago–horn only, no case–in a low stakes friendly neighborhood game.
Hi Jim, I’m sorry for the delayed response – I was sure I had answered already but it looks like I didn’t, so my apologies. Anyway, for more information in general you can try: https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_606860.
If you’re looking for a valuation, you could try: https://mearto.com/musical-instruments.