Julius Keilwerth

Julius Keilwerth first apprenticed for the Kohlert company in Graslitz, Czechoslovakia. After this apprenticeship, Julius Keilwerth and his brother, Max, established a workshop in their home around 1925 or 1926. They primarily manufactured saxophones for Adler and FX Hüller. The Julius Keilwerth company became one of the largest saxophone manufacturers in Europe by the start of WWII, with approximately 150 workers. After World War II, the company relocated to its present headquarters at Nauheim, Germany.

In 1948, the old Julius Keilwerth production facilities in Graslitz, now Kraslice, became part of the Czech Amati collective, however the first saxophones that Amati sold were still stamped with the "JGK - Best in the World" trademark, had the model name "Toneking" and had Julius Keilwerth serial numbers.

Boosey & Hawkes purchased Keilwerth in 1989 and merged the company with Schreiber in 1996. The combined company was sold to The Music Group in 2003. In 2006 The Music Group was broken up and Schreiber & Keilwerth became an independent company. In March 2010, Schreiber & Keilwerth filed for bankruptcy. On 1 August 2010 they were acquired by Buffet Crampon.

'Vedette' alto Saxophone - a "stencil" of the 'New King' Series IV made by Keilwerth circa 1968. Has straight tone-holes (not rolled) and is in two-tone finish i.e. nickel-plated keys on a lacquered body

A "stencil" saxophone is a saxophone made by a manufacturer that is then sold to another company that literally takes a stencil and engraves their own name/information on the horn. The Julius Keilwerth company not only provided entire saxophones to other companies as stencils, but provided saxophone bodies for other companies to affix their own keywork to. As a general rule, Keilwerth stencil saxophones are stamped "Made in Germany." Some Keilwerth stencils have rolled tone-holes, and other have conventional straight tone-holes.

Some of the best known of the Keilwerth stencils are those made for the W. T. Armstrong Company:-

• Some H. Couf Royalist saxophones, named for Herbert Couf, the vice president of the W. T. Armstrong Company (1965-1980s).
• H. Couf Superba I and II saxophones (1965-1980s)
• Conn DJH Modified after the 1981 acquisition of Armstrong by C. G. Conn, named after Daniel J. Henkin, owner of Conn (1981-1986).
• Armstrong Heritage saxophones.

Note: later H. Couf models, like the 3200 and Royalist II were made by the United Musical Instruments, not the Julius Keilwerth company.

Other significant entire horn Keilwerth stencils include:-

• Academy
• Alexandre
• H&A Selmer Bundy Special (1950s-1960s)
• Buffet Expression
• Calvert Deluxe, Champion, Crestone
• Heritage
• Gotz
• Imperial
• Jazz King, Jubilee
• King Tempo saxophones (1960s)
• Major, Manhattan, Martelle, Marco, Miraphone
• PIA, Prelude (made for Hakkert)
• Ravoy, Reynolds, Richard Gareis, Roger, Royalist
• Silvertone, Star
• TAM, Troubadour
• US Admiral
• Vedette
• Vincent Albert
• Wikina, Winsall

Note: some saxophones (e.g., Voss, Roxy, Senator, and De Villiers etc.) that appear to have been made by Keilwerth were in fact manufactured by another German company called Dörfler & Jörka (also based in Nauheim) between 1949 and 1968. The design and location of the neck screw (which is completely different from the type used by Keilwerth) is a simple but accurate method of identifying Dörfler & Jörka instruments.

Keilwerth stopped supplying stencil instruments after introduction of the Modell Peter Ponzol in the mid-to-late 1980s.