[2] Selmer Paris saxophones have been played by many well-known artists such as Marcel Mule, Claude Delangle, Frederick Hemke, Charlie Parker,[3] John Coltrane, Paul Desmond, Herschel Evans, Zoot Sims,[4] Michael Brecker, Sonny Rollins, Ornette Coleman and Coleman Hawkins.

They were the great-grandchildren of French military drum major Johannes Jacobus Zelmer, grandchildren of Jean-Jacques Selmer, the Army Chief of Music, and two of 16 siblings.

[5] Selmer presented clarinets at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition world's fair in Saint Louis, winning a gold medal.

They concentrated primarily on licensing, importing and distribution rather than manufacturing, and by 1939 had grown to become the largest company in the British musical instrument industry.

With the growth of skiffle music and the arrival of rock and roll in the mid-1950s, Selmer UK began producing guitar and bass amplifiers.

By this time Marshall guitar amplifiers had cornered the market, and the Selmer manufacturing facility was an expensive drain on resources.

During this period, the Selmer range of Treble & Bass 50 & 100 valve amplifiers appeared to be stylistic relics from pre-1959 and the decision was made to move the manufacturing facility to a disused brush and coconut matting works dating from 1914, based in rural Essex.

The marketing policy adopted by management involved allowing its distributors to arrange short-term loans of Gibson instruments on a trial basis.

These instruments were technically advanced but the build quality was poor compared with keyboards which were just beginning to reach the UK and European markets from Japan.

To supplement earnings the company made the decision to import a low cost Italian designed organ marketed as a Selmer product which was distributed in large numbers by catalogue sales.

In spite of a rebranding as Norlin Music (UK) the management of the company failed to address the key factors preferring to effect a range of cost-cutting measures.

George Cassidy, a Northern Irish jazz musician, had became a favourite with the Selmer tenor saxophone, for its warm, rich and expressive tone.

[9] Cassidy inspired Van Morrison, his Hyndford Street neighbor to take music lessons from him based on his performances with the Selmer tenor saxophone.