c.1927 VINTAGE KING H.N. WHITE CO. ALTO SAXOPHONE SAXOPHONE - PARTS or RESTORE

Description

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his listing is for a vintage H.N. White Co. "King" alto saxophone. The serial number is 100,xxx, which indicates a c.1927 production date (both body and neck have the same number). This is an example of the first King model. It features a front F button, G# trill key, and forked Eb mechanism.
Regarding condition, I'll start with the obvious...it is UGLY! The reason being, at some point it was lacquered over the original silver plate finish. This is never a good idea, in my opinion. This wasn't an uncommon practice back in the 1950's through the 70's. Silver plate instruments were out of style, and most of the old ones were badly tarnished, so they just applied a gold lacquer over them to make them look more like newer horns. The problem is that when the lacquer wears it exposed the silver, which then tarnishes unevenly causing the whole thing to look much worse. On top of all that, this one had a particularly ugly (orange tinted) lacquer applied to it, and it obviously didn't stick well, because half of it has come off. The good news, if you want to restore this horn to its original look, is that the adherence of the lacquer is so bad that you can pretty much scrape it off with your fingernail. I wouldn't recommend using that method for the entire horn, but it does show how easily it will come off. If you give it a bath in extra hot water and use a plastic brush on it I bet all of the remaining lacquer will easily come off.
The lacquer aside, this horn is in overall very good physical condition. The body looks straight. The neck has not been pulled down, although the tenon is dinged out of round (see pic #11). I don't see any other dents or dings, or past dent work. There are no resoldered joints that I can see. The key-guards are all straight. The keys are all moving freely, and the rollers are turning. The pads actually aren't in terrible condition. Certainly some are better than others. A leak light inspection does reveal a number of leaks though. That being said, it does play top to bottom as is. It isn't in ideal playing condition though. Still, I am able to get a relatively solid low Bb without even having to slur down to it. It probably could be put back in reasonable playing condition with only a handful of pads replaced and some oiling and adjustment if you wanted to go that route.
This sax comes with it's original King mouthpiece. It is in good condition, but needs a cleaning.I don't think the cap and ligature are original. There is also an old leather neck strap, and the original metal end plug included.
This sax does come in its original case, but the case is in poor condition. One of the hinges on the back is broke, and it is generally very worn and musty smelling. It will add some extra protection for shipping, but probably isn't worth salvaging for regular use.
Please feel free to email me with any questions.
Thanks again for looking!
Note to international buyers:
Due to the current global pandemic, international shipments via USPS mail are experiencing significant delays. This is due to lack of available transportation (ie. mail is normally carried overseas as cargo on commercial passenger flights, however the flight schedules have been slashed). European buyers have experienced wait times of up to 2 months for shipments to arrive. If this potential wait presents a problem for you, please refrain from purchasing at this time. I sincerely apologize for this, unfortunately unavoidable, inconvenience.