Founded in the 1780s, Köhler & Son were independent makers of brasswind instruments in London until they were bought by Swaine & Adeney in 1907.
When the German-born John Köhler came to England he joined the Royal Lancashire Volunteers in the summer of 1782,[1] but by 1786 he had moved to London and set himself up as a trumpet and French horn maker.
[2] In 1830 John Augustus set up a new workshop of his own at 35 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, where he produced a range of high-quality brasswind instruments for the military and orchestral markets.
The firm, which seems then to have run into financial and trading difficulties, moved several times, ending up in Bromley, Kent.
[6] John Augustus proved to be the innovator, holding manufacturing rights, for instance, to John Shaw's "Patent Swivel Valves" as well as to Thomas Harper's "Improved Chromatic Trumpet" and "Newly Invented Walking Stick Trumpet".