Charles H. Sullivan’s King Bugle

From Reveille at dawn to Taps at dusk, a bugle’s clear notes have long signaled to the military, scout troops, drum and bugle corps, and mourners around the world. Its polished brass now patinaed with age, this bugle has no keys or valves, rather a player uses embouchure, or mouth position, and breath to change the instrument’s pitch. Sound travels from the silver-toned mouthpiece through coiled tubes to resonate through the bell. Engraved on the bell is the bugle’s brand, King, and maker, The H.N. White Company of Cleveland, Ohio. The bugle belonged to musician Charles H. Sullivan (1865-1933), the eldest son of Canadians of African descent who immigrated to Boston in the late 1800s. Sullivan founded the multiracial Victorian Concert Orchestra in 1906, which he devotedly managed until his death. His expertise also extended to making and repairing musical instruments.