History note: "Prominent" U.S. piano makers listed in W. L. Hubbard (c1908)

[ranjacob@umich.edu]

Every so often I come across more than two or three pages devoted
to a survey of U.S. piano makers and manufacturing history in an old book 
of a more general nature, such as a reference book or encyclopedia volume 
on music.  Sometimes a slightly longer
survey, though addressed to a wide audience and derivative,
can add to one's impressions (knowledge??) of what reputations
may have been like in a given year, half-decade, or whatever,
and turn up an unfamiliar name.

For what it's worth, here is a listing of "prominent" makers
still in existence in 1908 or somewhat before (that's the copyright date), 
derived from 14 pages in an encyclopedia volume. It's
Vol. 8 of the American History and Encyclopedia of Music, editor
in chief W. L. Hubbard (William Lines Hubbard, b. 1867), volume
title History of American Music, edited by Hubbard and published
by Irving Squire (London; Toledo, New York, Chicago).

The date places it between Daniel Spillane (last decade of the
19th century, whose History is entered in the bibliography)
and Alfred Dolge (ca. 1911-1913, if I recall correctly).

The maker's name I didn't recall having read before was
Strich & Zeidler, New York.

After a survey of the colonial period and to 1823/1841, there
are long treatments of Chickering, mention of Knabe, a short treatment of 
Steinway, and one paragraph each on Mason & Hamlin and Weber.

Then follow mentions of 21 other makers, in alphabetical order. The cities 
and dates of establishment given are included below, as given:

Blazius (=Blasius?), Woodbury, NJ/Philadelphia (also the makers
  of "Albrecht & Co." and "Regent".
Cable Co., Chicago, est. 1880 (Conover, Cable, Kingsbury,
  Wellington)
A. B. Chase, NY and Norwalk, Ohio, est. 1875.
Conover (part of Cable), est. 1883.
Crown (Geo. P. Bent, Chicago)
Decker & Son, NY, est. 1856.
Fischer (J. and C.), NY, est. 1840.
Gabler, NY, est. 1854.
Haines Bros., Rochester, NY
Hallet & Davis, Boston, est. 1839.
Hazelton Bros., NY, est. 1849.
Krakauer Bros,, NY, est. 1878.
Kimball, Chicago, est. 1859.
Kranich & Bach, NY, est. 1864. ("This firm does a very large trade
  in small grand pianos.")
Mehlin & Son, NY.  [See, e.g., Dolge, who says, I think, that
  P. G. Mehlin left Behr Bros., somewhat before the end of the
  latter firm, to establish his own company; Siegfried Hansing
  was also with Behr Bros.]
Henry F. Miller & Sons, Boston, est. 1863.
Sohmer, NY, est. 1872.
Steck, NY, est. 1857.
Stieff, Baltimore, est. 1842.
Strich & Ziedler, NY, est. 1889. "Proprietors, William Strich and
  Paul M. Ziedler."
Vose & Sons, Boston, est. 1851.

Hubbard adds a paragraph on the founding of American Piano Co. in 1908. 
Besides Chickering, Knabe, and Haines Bros., it is said to
include Marshall & Mendell (=Wendell?), est. 1853; Foster & Co., est. 1892; 
Armstrong, est. 1893; Brewster, est. 1895; J. B. Cook & Co., est. 1900. 
"The present output of these companies is about
eighteen thousand pianos a year."

Hubbard ends with a paragraph on stencils. By his definition these
are low-grade pianos, "the true appellation being notorious for
inferiority." He says that there is a trade booklet "exposing ...
over two hundred and fifty such brands."

Interesting also are Hubbard's omissions of a number of then-existing 
makers of good instruments, whether by oversight or
deliberate exclusion.  The most famous at present is Baldwin (and
Ellington and Hamilton).  A recent book, which used a great deal
of the manufacturing census data of 1910, described a document,
from ca. 1903 if I'm not mistaken, in which L. Wulsin and other principals 
were said to have worked out competitive positions of pianos they would 
produce at different levels, naming a fair number of the above makers, with 
which they would compete. (Roell, Craig H.  The Piano in America, 
1890-1940. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, c1989.)

Randy Jacob
University of Michigan Library