Charles Frederick Stein pianos

[Yardarm103669107@AOL.COM]

In a message dated 3/25/2001 1:42:19 PM Central Standard Time, 
tcole@cruzio.com writes:

<< 
 A woman, whose father worked for his brother C. F. Stein, has asked me
 if I know anything about the Stein pianos. She had a few remembrances of
 what her father had told her, about the German craftsmen that were
 brought over, and the unique soundboards, but wondered what had
 ultimately happened to her Uncle Charlie's piano factory since there are
 conflicting stories in the family (including the notion that it became
 Steinway Pianos!). 
 
 I couldn't find anything in my library that could help her. Anyone? >>

Tom:
Jack Greenfield and I spent an afternoon about 10 years ago visiting 5-6 
sites of previous piano factories here in Chicago, mostly centered around the 
location of my shop on Carroll St. just north of Fulton. The Stein Factory, 
which was exactly 10 blocks west of my shop at 3047 W. Carroll, no longer 
exists at all; the building is gone, and the lot is (was) vacant and not a 
terribly good neighborhood. I kicked at the dirt around the fences that were 
there to see whether any long lost fragments of whippens or hammer butts or 
tuning pins or (lo and behold) an entire harmonic soundboard with the raised 
box on the bridge. But there was nothing. At one time, around my shop in 
several directions were about 12 manufacturers, most of them no longer even 
recognized. All of them went belly up in the 30's except for Stein who 
persisted until the early 40's. I've rebuilt several of the them, and they 
are truly fun to work on. Stein paid a lot of attention to scale design, and 
experimented, as everyone knows, with soundboard design. Even the underside 
of the piano is pretty with beautiful trapwork. The bearing and 
counterbearing bars on the plate are rosewood. Lots of the thought here. It's 
empty around this part of town now; there must have been piano-maker bars 
where the craftspeople went to drink. 

Jack might know more than that.

PR-J