Beginnings

Donald Artley spent most of his early career in the Elkhart music instrument industry before forming Artley Flute, which started out supplying flutes to a New York firm. The company was renamed D. and J. Artley Inc. in 1953, after its reputation had spread. Richard W. Bosse became president and general manager of the company after Donald Artley's death in 1955. The company's name was changed to Artley Inc. in 1958. In 1960, C. G. Conn, a fellow Elkhart-based company famous for its brass instruments, became Artley's exclusive distributor. Artley introduced clarinets, oboes and bassoons during the 1960s, becoming famous for crafting affordable student-quality woodwind instruments.

Series of Ownership

Artley was purchased by C. G. Conn Ltd. in 1969. During the 1970s, C. G. Conn, attempting to cut costs, moved Artley's manufacturing facilities to Nogales, Arizona. In 1980, Daniel Henkin purchased C. G. Conn Ltd. and all its subsidiaries from MacMillan, returning Artley to Elkhart. Henkin's health forced him to sell the company in 1985 to a Swedish company, forming United Music Instruments with Artley as a subsidiary.

Steinway Aquisition

Steinway & Sons, the world-famous piano maker, aquired UMI in 2000, later merging it with the Selmer Co. in 2003 to form Conn-Selmer, Inc. Although Conn-Selmer no longer makes flutes under the Artley name, its flutes continue to be passed down to second- and third-generation musicians.

Flute and Metal Piccolo Serial Number Information

Artley flute and metal piccolo owners can find the manufacturing date of their instrument from 1952 to the present using the information below.
Serial number/date:
10000/1952
12000/1953
15000/1954
19000/1955
25000/1956
34000/1957
45000/1958
56000/1959
68000/1960
80000/1961
92000/1962
104000/1963
118000/1964
134000/1965
153000/1966
186000/1967
214000/1968 (Bass Flutes 0043-0059)

237000/1969
26400/1970
295325 to 322854/1971
322855 to 356526/1972
356527 to 396152/1973
396153 to 438130/1974
438131 to 472995/1975
472996 to 498126/1976
498127 to 523041/1977
523042 to 553155/1978
553156 to 587764/1979
587765 to 618788/1980
618789 to 643979/1981
643980 to 656814/1982
656815 to 677772 and prefix 33/1983
677773 to 687751 and prefix 34/1984
Add 50 to the serial number prefix to find the year of manufacture from 1983 to the present.

Plastic and Wood Piccolo Serial Number Information

Owners of Artley plastic and wood piccolos can find their instrument's manufacturing date from 1961 to the present below.
Serial number/date:
100 to 137/1961
138 to 277/1962
278 to 327/1963
328 to 417/1964
418 to 466/1965
467 to 584/1966
585 to 727/1967
728 to 847/1968
848 to 979/1969
980 to 1081/1970
1082 to 135/1971
1136 to 1425/1973
2057 to 2573/1974
2574 to 3702/1975
3703 to 4456/1976
4457 to 4703/1977
4704 to 5304/1978
5305 to 5782/1979
5783 to 6191/1980
6192 and higher/1981
prefix 33/1982
Add 50 to the serial number prefix to find the year of manufacture from 1983 to the present.