National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Musical History Search this
Extent:
16 Cubic feet (37 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Microfilms
Trade literature
Photographic prints
Papers
Place:
Boston (Mass.)
Date:
1864 - 1985
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of 51 volumes of Chickering & Sons piano registers, documenting piano production (May 1823-September 1985); correspondence related to the hundredth anniversary of Jonas Chickering's presidency of the Handel and Hayden Society; publications on the history of the Company and sales literature (1854-1984); newspapers articles about the company (1847-1876); photographs (1926-1966); advertising and management forms (1938-1968); and a copy of a letter by Jonas Chickering to his father dated January 27, 1838. There are also ten documents related to the construction, mortgaging and insurance of Chickering Hall in New York City (1876-1886). Chickering Hall opened with great acclaim in 1875 and was an important musical center in New York City in the last quarter of the 19th Century. Some grand pianos from turn of the century onward are not listed in the ledgers. It is thought that Chickering may have had a duplicate set of serial numbers for grand pianos but this collection lacks that volume.
Arrangement:
This collection organized into seven series.
Series 1: Correspondence, 1950
Series 2: Publications, 1854-1884
Series 3: Company history and records, 1838-1940
Series 4: Newspapers, 1847-1876
Series 5: Photographs, 1924-1966
Series 6: Management forms and material, 1938-1968
Series 7: Microfilm of ledger books, 1823-1985
Biographical / Historical:
Chickering & Sons pianos are an old line that came into being in April 1823 in Boston. Jonas Chickering, the founder, was a youthful cabinet maker. He learned piano making from John Osborn, a true master of the trade. The division of labor in Osborn's shop was not very extensive and Chickering was compelled to study every part of the instrument and to make himself acquainted with all the details. This exposure to the full range of tasks would served him well when he became a master in his own right. During his four years with Osborn, he became acquainted with Osborn's partner, James Stewart, who was awarded a patent for a "detached" soundingboard that was incorporated in the partners' pianos.
When Osborn and Stewart severed their business relationship, Stewart and his new partner, Chickering, opened a small shop on Tremont Street near King's Chapel on February 15, 1823. The partnership lasted three years until Stewart withdrew and left for London. At the age of 28, Chickering became the sole owner of the small but prosperous manufactory. The firm's annual output climbed over the next three years and reached 47 instruments in 1829.
In early 1830, Chickering made Captain John McKay, an experienced, aggressive, and successful merchandiser a partner in Chickering & Company. Captain Mackay made frequent trips to South American ports with ships laden with pianos. Returning home, the hold was filled with fragrant rosewood and richly grained mahogany. Chickering's first invention was patented in 1837 the first practical casting of a modern iron frame built to sustain the great tension of the strings of the piano so that it would stay in tune for a considerable period. In 1845, another important patent was secured, representing the first practical method of overstringing for square pianos, and in 1849 he applied the same principle to uprights. These contributions and others have become standard with all piano manufacturers.
The Chickering firm made pianos in a new way, employing production strategies that paralleled developments in other trades undergoing industrialization. "When he first commenced business for himself about 15 instruments a year were turned out while in the later years Mr. Chickering's business finished between fifteen and sixteen hundred instruments a year and at least one grand piano worth about a thousand dollars every week." (Richard G. Parker, A Tribute To The Life and Character of Jonas Chickering "By one who knew him well" (Boston: William P. Tewksbury, 1854.)
He was a long time President of the Handel & Hayden Society of Boston, this Country's oldest oratorio, founded in 1815.
On December 1, 1853, a fire swept through the Washington Street factory. Rather than rebuild on Washington Street, plans were made to erect a new factory on Tremont Street in the South End of Boston. Chickering, however, never saw the new plant in operation as he suffered a stroke and died December 8, 1853. The large Chickering factory built in 1853 was described at that time as the largest building in the United States outside the U.S. Capitol, and as "... the most perfect and extensive pianoforte estblishment in the world."
Chickering's death in 1853 left the business in the hands of his sons. In 1867, Emperor Napoleon III of France bestowed the Imperial Cross of the Legion of Honor on Frank Chickering at the Paris World's Fair that year.
With the passing of C. Frank Chickering in 1891, the company lost headway; and it was purchased by the American Piano Company in 1908 (Chickering Brothers pianos, which were made for several years following 1892 were in no way related to Chickering & Sons, though this family of boys was trained in the Chickering & Sons Boston factory).
From 1905 to 1911, the firm alone among American builders supported the revival of early instruments by hiring the English musician and craftsman Arnold Dolmetsch to build harpsichords, clavichords, and violas.
Chickering & Sons continued manufacturing pianos in Boston until 1927, when the plant and its personnel were relocated to East Rochester, New York. The Chickering was the foremost piano of the time Longfellow had one and there was one on the stage at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. the night Lincoln was assassinated. In 1932 the Company became part of the Aeolian American Corporation.
William Knabe of Kreutzburg, Germany, trained as a piano manufacturer, established his business in Baltimore, Maryland in 1837, and controlled the market in the Southern states by 1860. The Civil War and economic pressures may have contributed to the death of Knabe in 1864. The Company was eventually purchased by the American Piano Company in 1908, shortly after Chickering became a part of the organization.
The Wurlitzer Company, a major musical instrument manufacturer, acquired the Chickering firm in 1985 and continued to produce instruments with the Chickering name. The Wurlitzer Company was later purchased by the Baldwin Piano Company; Baldwin was subsequently purchased by Wurltech, Inc., of Houston, Texas.
Provenance:
This collection was donated by the Wurlitzer Company, May 17, 1987.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
A Checklist of Keyboard Instruments at the Smithsonian Institution, CAH and Others, 1967, 1975 (2 publications)
Container:
Box 15 of 20
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 07-142, National Museum of American History, Division of Music, Sports, and Entertainment, Curatorial Records
Stereograph of a case instrument with raised lid and four-legged stool in foreground, with a stone wall in the background. Orange mount, flat, photographer and publisher unidentified.
Restrictions:
Unrestricted research use on site. Photographs must be handled with white cotton gloves, unless protected by plastic sleeves.
Series Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
The records of Sohmer & Co., date from 1872 through 1989. They fall into fourteen series based primarily on function. Legal, financial, inventory & appraisal, manufacturing, marketing, advertising, and sales are the major series. Photographs, awards, family papers, publications about Sohmer, general publications, "miscellaneous" and correspondence are the remaining series. The records are especially strong in the areas of advertising, finances, and marketing. The collection does not contain corporate records, articles of incorporation, executive records, minutes, annual reports, or personnel records such as payrolls or job descriptions.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into 14 series.
Series 1: Stock and Legal Records, 1882-1985
Series 2: Financial Records, 1887-1962
Series 3: Inventory & Appraisal Records, 1891-1980
Series 4: Manufacturing Records, 1872-1967
Series 5: Marketing, 1901-1989
Series 6: Advertising Records, 1880-1983
Series 7: Sales Records, 1923-1982
Series 8: Photographs, circa 1920-1964
Series 9: Awards, 1876-1976
Serioes 10: Sohmer Family Papers, 1945-1970
Series 11: Publications about Sohmer, 1883-1986
Series 12: General Publications, 1912-1985
Series 13: Miscellaneous Records, 1894-1983
Series 14: Correspondence, 1892-1987
Historical:
When Sohmer & Co. was founded in 1872 by Hugo Sohmer and his partner Joseph Kuder, it became one of 171 piano manufacturers in New York City. Over the next 110 years, Sohmer & Co. was one of the few active and successful family-owned and operated piano-making ventures in the United States. Nationally known for tonal quality and fine craftmanship, the firm's product, in the music trade, came to be referred to as "The Piano-Maker's Piano."
Biographical:
Born to an eminent physician in Dunningen, Wurtemberg, Germany on November 11, 1846, Hugo Sohmer enjoyed a first class education. Riding the last major wave of German immigration, which had brought piano makers such as Albert Weber, George Steck, John and Charles Fischer, and Henry E. Steinway to America, Hugo arrived in New York City in 1862. He became an apprentice in the piano making house of Schuetze & Ludolf. To learn more about European piano making, Hugo returned to Germany in 1868 and travelled extensively throughout Europe. In 1870 he returned to New York and by 1872 the 26 year old Sohmer and his partner, Josef Kuder, began manufacturing pianos in the 149 East 14th Street factory previously utilized by J.H. Boernhoeft and most recently by Marschall & Mittauer.
Josef Kuder, originally from Bohemia, Austria Hungary, learned piano making in Vienna between 1847 and 1854. Kuder arrived in New York in 1854 and became a pianomaker with Steinway & Sons which had been founded in 1853. In 1861 he returned to Vienna; he worked there until returning to New York in 1864, where he worked for Marschall & Mittauer until joining Sohmer.
Concentrating on tonal quality and response, Sohmer & Co. began producing pianos which were recognized in 1876 by an award from the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. In the waning years of the nineteenth century Sohmer & Co. received other awards including a diploma from the Exposition Provinciale in Montreal, Quebec in 1881, the gold medal at the Great New England Fair in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1889, and an award from the World's Columbian Commission in 1893 in Chicago.
By 1883 additional factory space, located on East 23rd Street and formerly used by Carhart & Needham, was occupied to accomodate increased production. In three years this space proved inadequate and forced the renting of an extension to the original factory. The main office and salesrooms were located at 31 West 57th Street in New York City. Meanwhile, in 1884 Sohmer invented the first five foot "baby" grand piano which was applauded for its musical brilliance and depth of tone. In the early 1900's Sohmer produced grand pianos in four sizes: Concert, Parlor, Baby & Cupid.
Limited space and increased production soon became issues again, and in 1887 the company moved its factory and special machinery to Astoria, Long Island. This factory, located at 31st Avenue and Vernon Boulevard, remained in continuous operation until 1982, when the Adirondack Chair Co. bought the building and Pratt Read acquired the company.
During the 1880s a number of letters patent were granted to Sohmer for such piano improvements as the agraffe bar for tone augmentation, and the aliquot string, which were auxiliary strings "arranged in conjunction with the regular strings for the purpose of giving forth reverberatory or sympathetic waves of sound, thus augmenting the general tone results of each unison." (Spillane, History, 256.)
In 1894 Hugo Sohmer took competitor Sebastian Sommer to court for stenciling the name "Sommer" on the fallboard of his pianos. Sohmer declared that "Sohmer" was a trademark used as an emblem to distinguish the piano from others, especially the Sommer piano which he considered inferior. The court in this equity case dismissed the case on the grounds that Sohmer had not proven damages accruing from the advertising and sale of the Sommer piano.
By 1907 Sohmer & Co. was producing 2,000 pianos per year. Additionally, with Farrand & Co. of Detroit, Sohmer was making the Sohmer Cecilian player piano. On June 8, 1913 Hugo Sohmer died in Scarsdale, N.Y.; 20 days later, Josef Kuder died as well. Hugo was survived by his wife, Elizabeth; a daughter, Adelaide S. Weber; and a son, Harry J. Sohmer, born in 1886. Company leadership was assumed by Harry J. Sohmer after Hugo's death.
During the 1920s Sohmer began a special department in its plant for the manufacture of period pianos. According to Harry Sohmer, the 1930s were difficult. He recalled that, once only one piano in 29 days was shipped. The number of American piano manufacturers dropped from 140 to 22 during this time. It was during this time that Harry's cousins, Frank and Paul Sohmer joined the company as consultants. However, through its pioneering efforts in the introduction of a console vertical piano known as a "Spinet," Sohmer revitalized the industry. (Taylor, "Piano Family.") This console vertical piano has been called "The Musicians' Console.
Primarily because of its concentration on the console vertical pianos Sohmer & Co. never cultivated famous performers in the way that Steinway and Baldwin did. While publicly acknowledging that it never entered into the competition for artistic endorsement (an acknowledgement which perhaps worked to its favor), Sohmer & Co. relied upon a most comprehensive and innovative advertising strategy stressing integrity, quality and craftsmanship in the pursuit of the ideal tone and touch.
In 1940 Harry incorporated the company as Sohmer & Co. and led it, with his sons Harry J. Sohmer, Jr., (born 1917) as production manager and Robert H. Sohmer (born 1920), as process engineer. By 1969 Harry Jr. was vice president in charge of production and Robert was production engineer/
treasurer. In 1971 Harry Sr. died and Harry Jr. became president.
In 1982 Pratt Read Corporation, a long established manufacturer of piano keyboards, acquired Sohmer & Co. for an undisclosed amount, and moved the operations to its Ivoryton, Connecticut factory, while retaining the Sohmer name. The Sohmer brothers retained their positions in the company. At the time of its purchase Sohmer & Co. employed 120 people, produced 2500 pianos yearly, and grossed $5 million in sales. Harry J. Sohmer, Jr., grandson of the founder, in expressing his feelings about the move and the Sohmer piano, compared his piano to old New York beers saying that "they were strictly New York products and in a way so were we." He concluded by saying, "We were always identified with this city. Sohmer was a New York piano." (Prial, "Sohmer Piano.")
By July 1983 under Pratt Read's management Sohmer was producing 6 pianos per day, only 50% of the expected capacity according to H.B. Comstock, president of Pratt Read. In 1986 the Ivoryton factory was sold to a group of investors organized as Sohmer Holding Co., who continued to make pianos there until a lack of skilled workers and financial losses forced its closing in December 1988. In an effort to fill the backlog of orders, Sohmer president Tom Bradshaw opened a new facility in Elysburg, Pennsylvania. A retail showroom was maintained in Ivoryton. In 1989, the Sohmer company was sold to the Falcone Custom Grand Piano Company of Haverhill, Massachusetts.
References
Cox, Erin. "Labor Woes a Main Factor in Sohmer Closing," The Pictorial Gazette West, 3 (December 8, 1988), 1, 22.
Dolge, Alfred. Piano and their Makers. 1911; rpt. New York: Dover Publications, 1973.
Loesser, Arthur. Men, Women and Pianos: A Social History. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1954.
Musical Merchandise Review. "Sohmer Pianos Underway at Conn. Pratt Read," July 1983, 91.
The Music Trades. "Pratt, Read Acquires Sohmer & Co. Piano Maker,"August 1982, 18.
Piano and Organ Purchaser's Guide, 1907, 1930. Prial, Frank J. "Sohmer Piano, and 110 Years of Craft, will leave Astoria," New York Times, August 13, 1982, B1, B4.
Purchaser's Guide to the Music Industries. 1956, New York: The Music Trades, 1956, 58 60.
Spillane, Daniel. History of the American Pianoforte: Its Technical Development, and the Trade. 1890; rpt. New York: Da Capo Press, 1969.
Taylor, Carol. "Piano Family Stays in Tune," New York World Telegram & Sun, August 15, 1958.
Materials in the Archives Center, National Museum of American History:
Pratt Read Corp. Records (AC0320)
Chickering & Sons Records (AC0264)
Steinway Piano Co. Collection (AC0178)
Provenance:
Collection donated by Pratt Read Corporation, August 11, 1989.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
The collection documents the Challis Harpsichord business, and the lives of Mr. Challis and his partner, Ephraim Truesdale. The collection contains correspondence, both personal and business; business records, including ledgers and journals; drawings, including design drawings for harpsichord decorations and elements; client files; subject files, especially on harpsichord and musical instrument subjects; printed materials such as concert programs, trade literature, magazines on the subject of music and musical instruments, clippings, advertisements and publicity materials; photographs, including many of instruments and many of Challis' family members; music scores; ceremonial items such as diplomas; templates for elements of harpsichords; and recordings.
Arrangement:
Collection is unarranged.
Biographical / Historical:
John Challis was an American builder of harpsichords and clavichords. He attended Michigan Normal College (now Eastern Michigan University), where his interest in constructing keyboard instruments emerged. He spent four years apprenticing with Arnold Dolmetsch in England, returning in 1930, when he set himself up building instruments in a two-story space above a dress shop in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Dr. William W. Frayer, 2016.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Steinway, Theodore (C.F. Theodore Steinweg), 1825-1889 Search this
Former owner:
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Musical History Search this
Extent:
6 Cubic feet (12 boxes, including photographs and microfilm)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Business records
Diaries
Catalogs
Correspondence
Microfilms
Photographs
Minute books
Business letters
Love letters
Letters
Letter books
Place:
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
Date:
1857-1919
Summary:
Records of the Steinway & Sons piano company and a daily diary of William Steinway, a key figure in the rise of the company to international prominence in the nineteenth century. The records document overall operations of the company, individual piano serial numbers, and the business and personal life of William Steinway, a prominent figure in New York business, politics, and musical life.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of an original diary (and microfilm copies) kept by William Steinway and microfilm copies of nineteenth century business records of Steinway & Sons. There also are business and family photographs and some miscellaneous documents.
Arrangement:
Series 1, William Steinway Diary, 1861-1896
Series 2, Steinway Business Records, 1858-1910
Series 3, Steinway Family Materials, 1877-1882
Series 4, Rev. Bartholomew Krüsi Materials, 1857-1919
Biographical / Historical:
Heinrich Engelhard Steinway (Steinweg) (born 1797, Wolfshagen, Germany; died 1871, New York City) made his first piano in 1836. In 1850 he immigrated to America and settled in New York City with his wife, three daughters, and four of his five sons. He and his sons Charles, Henry, Jr., and William at first worked for various New York piano makers until 1853 when they formed the partnership of Steinway & Sons. One year later Steinway & Sons' square pianos won first prize at the Metropolitan Mechanics Institute Exhibition (held at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.) and in 1855 won the Gold medal for the best piano (an over-strung iron-frame square piano) in the American Institute Fair at the Crystal Palace in New York City. In 1859, Henry, Jr. patented (patent no. 26,532, December 20, 1859) a design for a one-piece over-strung iron frame for the grand piano that won praise, a gold medal, and international recognition at the 1867 Paris Exposition.
The firm faced a crisis in 1865 when two of Heinrich's sons died: Henry (born 1831), who was responsible for the first seven patents, and Charles (born 1829). The family prevailed on the eldest son, C. F. Theodor (1825 1889), to sell his partnership as a piano manufacturer in Braunschweig, Germany, and to join his family in New York City. Not eager to sever all his ties in Germany, Theodor spent time in both countries until his death, contributing technical innovations that resulted in forty-one patents. One of these patents was for the duplex scale in 1872. Several of the following generation worked with the firm, including Fred T. Steinway (1860-1927), son of Charles, who served in London, Hamburg, and New York City.
C. F. Theodor Steinway's technical skills were matched by the entrepreneurial skills of his brother William (1835 1896). William was a creative businessman who played the piano, sang tenor, and supported the musical life of New York City. His promotional and marketing techniques, and his cultivation of eminent musicians and association with aristocratic patrons, helped to make Steinway & Sons so successful. William Steinway was prominent in New York City social and political life.
In 1880, Steinway & Sons opened a Hamburg branch. The firm was sold in 1972 to CBS. Subsequent owners include the Birmingham Brothers (Steinway Musical Properties, 1985-1995) and Steinway Musical Instruments, Inc. (1995-).
Related Materials:
Materials at the Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Industry on Parade (NMAH.AC.0507)
Reel # 156, Before the Concert, 1953. Making pianos. Steinway and Sons, Long Island, New York.
N W Ayer Advertising Agency Records (NMAH.AC.0059)
Contains advertising proof sheets for Steinway & Sons from 1900 through 1963. The Piano series of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana contains five folders of material on Steinway. The Industry on Parade Film Collection has a short, 1953 film (reel #156) on Steinway's manufacture of pianos in its Long Island plant. The Sohmer & Company Records contain three folders of trade literature from Steinway. These include catalogs, pamphlets, and booklets on the Steinway family genealogy and on the Steinway piano used at the White House. Sohmer, also a New York City piano manufacturer, collected copies of competitors' sales catalogs and other publications.
Materials at Other Organizations
The LaGuardia and Wagner Archives at LaGuardia Community College/CUNY is the largest repository of Steinway materials. It holds extensive business records as well as personal papers and photographs. The Steinway family loaned seventy folders of Steinway family correspondence to the National Museum of American History in October, 1984, and a program of transcription and translation was begun by the Steinway Diary Project. The original correspondence was transferred to the Archives Center in August 1985 and, at the request of Henry Z. Steinway, transferred to the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives in March, 1990. Additional Steinway materials are at the New York Historical Society, the University of Maryland Performing Arts Library, and other repositories. The control file for this collection has further information on the location of Steinway materials.
Separated Materials:
The Division of Culture and the Arts (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) holds several Steinway and Sons pianos.
Provenance:
Henry Z. Steinway donated the William Steinway diary on April 2, 1996.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use. Researchers must use positive microfilm copy of diary. Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.
Rights:
Copyright held by the Smithsonian Institution. Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: fees for commercial use.
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
The collection includes photographs of pianos and other keyboard instruments.
Biographical / Historical:
Hugo Worch was born in Potsdam, Germany, November 15, 1855 and died in Washington, DC, November 14, 1938). Worch was an American collector of and dealer in keyboard instruments. His father, Christian, had a music business in Trenton, New Jersey, from c1858 to 1861, and in Washington from 1863 to 1868 and again in 1883; Worch and his brother Emil took this over in 1883, and after Emil's death his widow and Hugo continued the business as Hugo Worch & Co. from 1884 until 1895. After 1895 the firm of Hugo Worch sold instruments (including pianos sold under the Worch name but manufactured elsewhere), sheet music, and, as tastes changed, phonographs, recordings, and radios. The firm went out of business in 1960 on the retirement of Hans Hugo Worch, who had bought it from his brother Carl and sister Paulina in 1954.
In the 1880s Worch began collecting keyboard instruments that showed the development of the American piano industry from the 1790s to 1850. Later he added to his collection examples of clavichords, harpsichords, and pianos by such European makers as Shudi, Ruckers, Stein, and Broadwood. From 1921 to 1938 he held the title of honorary custodian of musical instruments at the Smithsonian Institution. Absorbed with the history of the piano, he acquired a collection of nearly 200 instruments and over 2000 photographs showing details of keyboard construction. From 1914 his collection of keyboard instruments formed the nucleus of the keyboard collections at the Smithsonian. His library of over 3000 books relating to keyboard construction and 500 bound volumes of American sheet music was dispersed after World War II.
Source
Worch, Hugo. Oxford Music Online, Grove Music Online. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002219658 (accessed October 18, 2018)
Provenance:
Immediate source of acquistion unknown.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
The collection documents approximately fifty years of the Hubbard Harpsichord business. The records include correspondence, financial and accounting materials, sales and promotional materials, records, newsletters, dealer files, project files, photographs, research files on European instruments, kit manuals, and design drawings.
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents the approximately fifty years of the Hubbard Harpsichord business. The records include correspondence, financial and accounting materials, sales and promotional materials, records, newsletters, dealer files, project files, photographs, research files on European instruments, kit manuals, and design drawings.
Series 1, Correspondence, 1949-2003, consists of letters among representatives of the company, individuals, churches, seminary schools, musical societies, companies, universities, harpsichord owners and enthusiasts. The correspondence is rich with information about historical issues, construction techniques, ownership genealogy, the early music movement, and Hubbard's importance to the historical building movement. The correspondence is handwritten and typed. There are some loose papers, notes, and postcards. Requests for information on the harpsichord manual kit, harpsichord purchases, and questions/answers pertaining to the building of harpsichords comprise the majority of the series. There are also invoices, checks, and publications such as the Wall Street Journal, the New York Review, and Saturday Review. Correspondents include the Smithsonian Institution, Harvard University, Yale University, a number of professional harpsichordists, and dealers of the company. The series is arranged in chronological order, then alphabetically by correspondent's last name or business name.
Series 2, Business Files, 1965-2000, is divided into three subseries: Subseries 1, Annual Meetings and Reports, 1965-2000; Subseries 2, Corporate Affairs, 1960-1997, and Subseries 3, Employee Files, 1967-1997.
This series documents both the development of Frank Hubbard Harpsichords Kit, Inc., the company created to sell "do-it-yourself" kits, and Frank T. Hubbard Harpsichords, the finished instruments company. Hubbard headed the finished instruments company, officially established in 1973, until his death, while Lawrence C. Erdmann headed the kits company. The issue of what role the two separate companies should take was a prominent question before and after Hubbard's death. Diane Hubbard, Hubbard's wife, began running the company after Hubbard's death in 1976 until her retirement in 2000. This series is arranged topically, then in chronological order.
Subseries 1, Annual Meetings and Reports, 1965-2000, documents many of the issues the company faced at the corporate level. Minutes, corporate resolutions, and correspondence highlight yearly financial and operational activities, financial and operations projections, consolidation of the two companies, review of leadership positions, proposed investments, incoming stockholders and activities of the board of directors, and acquired leases.
Subseries 2, Corporate Affairs, 1960-1997, includes property leases the company held from its founding at Moody Street in 1959, until the 1980's. This subseries documents stockholder, stock purchases by Phil Cooper, a major shareholder in the company in the 1990's. Other items include the Hubbard Memorial Committee which documents a memorial concert, the establishment of the Historical Harpsichord Monograph essays, and some of Hubbard's publications. Dr. Howard Schott, author of the Historical Harpsichords series, and Dr. John D. Montgomery, chairman of the Frank Hubbard Memorial Committee are frequent correspondents. A finished instruments schedule documents (Box 21/folder 9), through notes and correspondence, the length of time it took to complete building the harpsichord. The same box holds records of the company's acquisition of a clavichord business (Box 21/folder 10), and a 1997 business plan (Box 21/folder 11).
Subseries 3, Employee Files, 1967-1996, consists of correspondence among representatives of the company, college students searching for internships, and job applicants seeking positions.
The materials document the continually changing structure and hierarchy of the company through notes and correspondence. There are materials relating to the employment of Michel Van Hecke, an apprentice craftsman in the late 1960's, and Robert A. Murphy, a piano craftsman, in 1984, which document the company's hiring process over time.
Series 3, Frank Hubbard Harpsichords Kit, Inc., 1964-1997, is divided into three subseries: Subseries 1, Kit Instructions, 1964-1989, undated, Subseries 2, Price Lists and Costs, 1974-1999, undated, and Subseries 3, Catalogues of Hubbard Harpsichords, 1984-1997.
Determined to offer instruments of authenticity and perfection, Hubbard initially created a finished instruments company. In 1963, Hubbard also developed a kit manual which anyone with basic woodworking skills could follow in order to build their own harpsichord. This series is arranged topically, then chronologically.
Subseries 1, Kit Instructions, 1964-1989, undated, consists of the pioneering kit manuals Hubbard promoted while waiting for finished instrument orders. The earliest manual, 1964, is a general purpose harpsichord manual that is most likely an early kit for a French harpsichord. Others include the Flemish harpsichord, fortepiano by Johann Andreas Stein, a German maker of keyboard instruments, English bentside spinet, 17th century Flemish Ottavino, Flemish virginal-museler spinet, and Flentrop chamber organ.
Subseries 2, Price Lists and Costs, 1974-1999, undated, consists of the costs, price, and inventories related to the production of kit manuals.
Subseries 3, Catalogues of Hubbard Harpsichords, 1984-1997, contains Hubbard harpsichord catalogues and price list booklets. Orders for kits are with the packing lists under sales and promotional materials.
Series 4, Research, 1930-1973, is divided into eight subseries: Subseries 1, Notebooks, 1932-1973, undated; Subseries 2, Correspondence and Notes, 1955-1956, undated; Subseries 3 Drawings, 1950-1959; Subseries 4, Publications and Manuscripts, 1930-1974, undated; Subseries 5, Photographs, undated; Subseries 6, Card Files, undated; Subseries 7, Samples, undated; and Subseries 8, Miscellaneous, 1934-1960, undated.
Research files document Hubbard's efforts to perfect his skills building harpsichords in the 1940's and 1950's. Hubbard journeyed to archives in small towns and gathered information there. He also worked as an apprentice at Arnold Dolmetsch's workshop and later with Hugh Gough in England. This research eventually resulted in instruments that had all the qualities of their older models. This series is arranged topically, then chronologically.
Subseries 1, Notebooks, 1932-1973, includes Work and Ideas of Arnold Dolmestch, which paved the way for building harpsichords based on historical principles. Other notebooks include the Ruckers Taskin (an eighteenth century Flemish harpsichord) and Hubbard's notebook on the alteration of a Hemsch Harpsichord in 1972. There are some notebooks titled by volume that relate to the Hubbard and Dowd Company.
Subseries 2, Correspondence and Notes, 1955-1961, undated, consists of letters and technical notes such as workshop methods, the Ruckers Taskin, and notes from the Harding Museum. The majority of correspondence and notes are unidentified.
Subseries 3, Drawings, 1950-1959, undated, consists of tracings, rubbings, templates, and Hubbard and Dowd drawings of harpsichord designs and harpsichord parts. Some drawings depict the construction of harpsichords by earlier builders. The drawings are unprocessed.
Subseries 4, Publications and Manuscripts, 1930-1974, undated, includes loose pages of an "Ars Organi sketch," articles by Edwin W. Ripin, and loose pages of the French Encyclopedia. There are publications in French, such as a biographical note on the "Blanchet" describing Parisian harpsichord makers. Illustrated London News, Le Soir Illustre, Christian Science Monitor, and Cincinnati Enquirer magazine articles are also included.
Subseries 5, Photographs, undated, consists of unidentified photographs of harpsichords.
Subseries 6, Card Files, undated, consists of index cards documenting instruments examined and instrument makers. There is an index for the cards.
Subseries 7, Samples, undated contains DeQuoco harpsichord iron strings, wood samples, DeQuoco harpsichord wire, and soft iron wire samples.
Subseries 8, Miscellaneous Items, 1934-1960, undated, includes a map of Central Europe, sheet music, museum procedure forms, concert programs, Successor Brocco Instruments, a 1950's instrument maker of the fortepiano, and promotional material for instrument makers.
Series 5, Sales and Promotional Materials, 1961-2000, is divided into six subseries: Series 1, Sales Journals, 1983-1998, Series 2, Instruments on order, 1968-1987, Series 3, Dealer files, 1975-1990, Series 4, Packing lists, 1970-2000, Series 5, Promotional files, 1961-2001, and Series 6, Catalogs of Other Instruments. It is arranged topically then chronologically.
Subseries 1, Sales Journals, 1983-1998, consists of loose pages of expenses and receipts for the instruments produced by the company in the 1980's and 1990's. These include the French harpsichord, the English Bentside Spinet, fortepiano, virginal, ottavino, and organ.
Subseries 2, Instruments on Order, 1968-1987, includes correspondence between representatives of the company and individuals, companies, musical societies, and colleges relating primarily to orders for finished instruments. Requests for kit orders and replacement parts are included. There are also instrument-on-order tracking sheets, invoices, and shipping orders and forms that document the orders that were placed.
Subseries 3, Dealer Files, 1975-1990, contains correspondence between Hubbard representatives and dealers, both domestic and international, who promoted Hubbard harpsichords. The customs broker company, T.D. Downing, is also represented. Other materials include tracking sheets, shipping forms invoices, bills, checks, inventory lists, mail, telegrams, and certificates of insurance between the Hubbard Harpsichords Company and dealers. Dealers include Japanese companies like Arai and Company and German individuals like Klevers. Dealers from Australia, Belgium, Canada, England, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and United States are also represented.
Subseries 4, Packing Lists, 1970-2000, consists of the kit orders placed for the French harpsichord, English bentside spinet, fortepiano, virginal, ottavino, and organ the company produced. Some packing lists indicate the number of kits the company packed each year. The numbers on the folders indicate the number of kits produced by the company.
Subseries 5, Promotional Files, 1961-2001, includes correspondence and catalogs from festivals, exhibitions, workshops, and projects that helped the company reach out to the wider public. The Boston Early Music Festival, for which Diane Hubbard was a board member, is well represented. Workshops in skills such as voicing, tuning, repair, and general woodworking classes helped amateur craftsman receive instructions for harpsichord-related activities. The special projects document other activities and venues, such as high school projects, and other activities by the Hubbard's to share their knowledge of, and enthusiasm for, harpsichords.
Subseries 6, Catalogs of Other Instruments, undated, consists of competitors' catalogs for early instruments. Hubbard's notable competitors include Wallace Zuckerman (Zuckerman harpsichords), and Hubbard's former business partner, William Dowd. The subseries is arranged alphabetically by competitor name.
Series 6, Financial Records, 1976-2000, consists of general financial documents, balance sheets, tax information, and payrolls.
Materials include account receivables, kits work in progress, monthly expense budgets, accounts payable, cash disbursements, write-offs and cancellations, bad debts, finished instrument orders and sales, miscellaneous income, monthly totals from sales journals, cash disbursements petty cash statements, kits ordered and shipped, restorations and fixed assets. Balance sheets, tax information, payroll documents, and related income statements complement the general financial documents to document the company's finances. The materials are arranged chronologically, then topically.
Series 7, Legal Records, 1959-1987, undated, consists of memoranda, notes, correspondence, and financial materials relating to legal cases and commercial acquisitions for the Hubbard Harpsichord Company from the 1970's to 1980's. The series is divided into five subseries: Subseries 1, Notes of John Ashby, 1968-1977; Subseries 2, Notes of Henry S. Healy, 1973-1978; Subseries 3, Belt v. Hubbard, 1963-1977; Subseries 4, Correspondence, 1963-1979; and Subseries 5, Acquisitions and Mergers, 1959-1987.
Subseries 1, Notes of John Ashby, 1968-1977, consists of notes of the company's lead attorney John H. Ashby pertaining to legal agreements between Hubbard and Erdmann, Hubbard's estate, Belt v. Hubbard, and general financial matters.
Subseries 2, Notes of Henry S. Healy, 1973-1978, consists of the notes of Henry S. Healy regarding the company's acquisition of commercial real estate and leases.
Subseries 3, Belt v. Hubbard, 1963-1977, consists of correspondence, memos, notes, affidavits, pleading matters, and pending matters used in the Belt v. Hubbard case.
Subseries 4, Correspondence, 1963-1979, consists of general correspondence. Wallets five through nine deal with merger acquisitions and sublease agreements during the 1970's and 1980's. Reviews of the company's financial operations are included in accountant reports, tax returns, and documents for the board of directors meetings.
Series 8, Soundboard Newsletters, 1979-1999, consists of a yearly newsletter with information about the company's activities for harpsichord enthusiasts.
Series 9, Photographs, 1968-1993, undated, consists of two albums of harpsichord photos and slides at events and concert halls.
Series 10, Drawings, undated (unprocessed)
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into nine series.
Series 1: Correspondence, 1949-2003
Series 2: Business Files, 1965-2000
Subseries 2.1: Annual meetings and reports, 1965-2000
Subseries 2.2: Corporate Affairs, 1960-1997
Subseries 2.3: Employee Files, 1967-1996
Series 3, Frank Hubbard Harpsichord Kits, Inc., 1964-1997, undated
Subseries 4.4: Publications and Manuscripts, 1930-1974, undated
Subseries 4.5: Photographs, undated
Subseries 4.6: Card Files, undated
Subseries 4.7: Samples, undated
Subseries 4.8: Miscellaneous, 1934-1960, undated
Series 5: Sales and Promotional Materials, 1961-2001, undated
Subseries 5.1: Sales Journals, 1983-1998
Subseries 5.2: Dealer Files, 1975-1990
Subseries 5.3: Instruments on Order, 1968-1987
Subseries 5.4: Packing Lists, 1970-2000
Subseries 5.5: Promotional Files, 1961-2001
Subseries 5.6: Catalogs of Other Instruments, undated
Series 6: Financial Records, 1976-2000
Series 7: Legal Records, 1959-1987, undated
Subseries 7.1: Notes of John Ashby, 1968-1977
Subseries 7.2: Notes of Henry S. Healy, 1973-1978
Subseries 7.3: Belt v. Hubbard Materials, 1963-1977
Subseries 7.4: Correspondence, 1963-1979
Subseries 7.5: Acquisitions and Mergers, 1959-1987
Series 8: Soundboard Newsletters, 1979-1999
Series 9: Photographs, 1968-1993, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Frank Twombly Hubbard (1920-1976) was an American early instruments maker who with William R. Dowd (1922-2008) and the German harpsichord maker Martin Skowroneck, resurrected historical methods of harpsichord building. Many harpsichord makers in the United States are in debt to Frank Hubbard, his research, and his work with Dowd which became central to the twentieth century revival of harpsichord building in the United States.
Born on May 15, 1920, in New York, Hubbard graduated from Harvard University (Bachelor's, 1942; Master of Arts, 1947). At Harvard, Hubbard met William Dowd (1922-2008) who also had an interest in early instruments. Together they constructed a clavichord, an early stringed keyboard instrument used during the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries. Hubbard and Dowd both decided to leave Harvard to pursue instrument making. In 1947, Dowd went to work with John Challis in Michigan, while Hubbard went to England and became an apprentice at the workshop of Arnold Dolmetsch in Haslemere. Not learning much about the historic harpsichord, Hubbard worked with Hugh Gough in London in 1948. During his one-year stay with Gough, he was able to visit collections of early keyboard instruments around Europe and study the instruments of fifteenth to eighteenth century harpsichord makers.
Hubbard returned to the United States in 1949 and founded a workshop with Dowd, called Hubbard and Dowd, Inc., in Boston, Massachusetts, which was dedicated to building harpsichords on historical principles. Hubbard and Dowd restored harpsichords in public and private collections (including the Smithsonian) which helped improve their own techniques of design and construction. In 1958 the partnership ended and Hubbard formed his own workshop, Frank Hubbard Harpsichords, Inc. on the Lyman Estate in Waltham, Massachusetts. Dowd opened a larger workshop in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Hubbard held several fellowships--a Fulbright Fellowship (1957), American Philosophical Society Grant (1958) and the Belgium American Educational Foundation CRB Fellowship (1958)--to examine instrument collections in Europe. From 1967 to 1968, he set up the restoration workshop for the Musee Instrumental at the Paris Conservatoire. In the 1970s, he taught courses at Harvard and Boston Universities. Hubbard wrote Three Centuries of Harpsichord Making in 1965. Ralph Kirkpatrick, a harpsichordist, wrote, "Hubbard unquestionably knows more about the history and construction of harpsichords than anyone alive today."
Hubbard developed a harpsichord in 1963 based on a 1769 French harpsichord which was sold as a "do-it-yourself" kit. It included a manual and all the crucial parts. Any person with a good grasp of woodworking and basic knowledge of harpsichord making, with dedication and careful work, was able to produce a fine instrument. Other kit designs followed in subsequent decades, and were marketed and sold under the name of Frank Hubbard Harpsichord Kits, Inc.
Frank Hubbard died on February 26, 1976 in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Operations at the Hubbard shop continued under the direction of Hubbard's wife, Diane Hubbard until 2000. Diane Hubbard died in 2009. Approximately 300 instruments were built in the shop, and nearly 4,000 kits were sold to customers around the world.
Related Materials:
Materials at the National Museum of American History
Materials in the Archives Center
Dowd Harpsichord Collection, 1949-1997 (AC0593)
The Division of Culture and the Arts (now Division of Cultural and Community Life
The division has a Hubbard clavichord and harpsichords built by other makers.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Hendrik Broekman, President, Hubbard Harpsichords, Inc., on September 20, 2011.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
The subseries consists of the pioneering kit manuals Hubbard promoted while waiting for finished instrument orders. The earliest manual, 1964, is a general purpose harpsichord manual that is most likely an early kit for a French harpsichord. Others include the Flemish harpsichord, fortepiano by Johann Andreas Stein, a German maker of keyboard instruments, English bentside spinet, 17th century Flemish Ottavino, Flemish virginal-museler spinet, and Flentrop chamber organ.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Hubbard Harpsichord Records, 1930-2003, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Musical History Search this
Extent:
18 Cubic feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Field notes
Audiotapes
Posters
Reports
Correspondence
Photographs
Place:
Appalachian Region
North Carolina
Virginia
Vermont
Date:
1964-1977
Summary:
The J. Scott Odell folk music collection (1945-2016, inclusive) contains AV recordings, photographs, correspondence, writings, and other materials relating to Odell's career at the Smithsonian as a musical instrument conservator and researcher of American music traditions. The collection largely consists of materials relating to Odell's research trips (often combined with personal visits) throughout the Eastern United States. Research strengths of the collection include the history of the Appalachian dulcimer and banjo, the Smithsonian Folkways project "Black Banjo Songsters," musician and poet Burt Porter, and the Bread and Puppet Theater.
Scope/Contents note:
The J. Scott Odell Folk Music Collection, which includes materials dating from 1945-2016, documents the research, professional work, and personal relations of J. Scott Odell (b. 1935). Odell worked at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History (NMAH) as a musical instrument conservator and traveled throughout the Eastern United States documenting a variety of musical instruments and traditions. The collection reflects his research trips and other travels; the development of exhibits and performance of music and dance at the Smithsonian; and the relationships Odell developed with the musicians, craftspeople, informants, and other people he worked with throughout his career.
Research strengths of this collection include notes, photographs, and recordings from Odell's fieldwork; extensive documentation of Odell's work on the Smithsonian Folkways project Black Banjo Songsters, in collaboration with folklorist Cecelia Conway; and materials pertaining to the Bread and Puppet Theater (based in Glover, Vermont). Significant places documented include southwest Virginia (Galax), nearby North Carolina (Shelton-Laurel), the surrounding tri-state area, and Vermont (Glover). Significant individuals represented in the collection include Odell, Burt Porter, Ralph Rinzler, and other well-known musicians. The most prominent instrument information in the collection relates to the banjo and the Appalachian dulcimer, although the American fiddle tradition and other instruments are also represented. Materials include photographs (negatives and prints), field notes, trip reports, correspondence, slides, writings, and AV materials. This collection may also be of interest to researchers of AV history and evolution. The wide variety of formats found in the collection maps the development of popular recording media. The collection includes open-reel tapes, Hi-8 tapes, DATs, mini-DV tapes, Betacam and Betacam SP tapes, VHS and SVHS tapes, cassettes, optical discs, mini-discs, and Zip discs.
This collection was initially established in 2008, when it was transferred from Archives Center at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History (NMAH) to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives & Collections (RRFAC), Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (CFCH). (NMAH Archives Center had received the collection from the Division of Musical History.) Since 2008, the collection has been significantly expanded, more than doubling in size between 2008 and 2016. (These additional materials can be found in Series 8, Accruals.) With these deposits, the scope of the collection expanded beyond Odell's Appalachian dulcimer research and instrument conservator duties to include his banjo research, travels, relationships with musicians (particularly Burt Porter), and involvement with the Bread and Puppet Theater.
Arrangement note:
The collection is arranged in eight series as follows: (1) Correspondence, 1963-1978; (2) Folk Instruments Research; (3) Collected Publications and Ephemera; (4) Collecting Trips; (5) Publications; (6) Sound Recordings; (7) Oversize Materials; and (8) Accruals. Within each series and subseries, folders are arranged thematically, alphabetically, and/or chronologically.
Series 1-7 reflect the order of the original transfer from the Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Series 8 (Accruals) encompasses several deposits made by Scott Odell of additional materials between 2011 and 2017. Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives staff, in collaboration with Odell, imposed order upon Series 8.
Researchers should note that, when performing research in Series 8 (Accruals), they might need to consult multiple boxes, even when working within a single subseries where the intellectual arrangement in the finding aid does not always align with the physical arrangement of the materials. This separation between the intellectual and physical arrangement is due in part to the order in which RRFAC received each deposit, the format of the materials (i.e., papers vs. photographs vs. AV items), and earlier digitization efforts.
Biographical/Historical note:
Jay Scott Odell (b. 1935) was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, to Adalberta Lavoie Odell and Jay Geddes Odell. The family moved frequently throughout his childhood, resulting in Odell having lived at fourteen different addresses and attending seven different schools by the time he graduated high school in 1953. When the family settled in Mamaroneck, New York, in 1950, Odell met poet Peter Kane Dufault, and musician and poet Burt Porter, two figures who would go on to strongly influence his personal and professional development. It was on the advice of Dufault, for example, that Odell apprenticed with harpsichord-maker William Dowd after college.
Odell attended Middlebury College where he met his future wife, Dorothy "Dottie" Hiebert. After graduating in 1957, Hiebert moved to France and Odell took a position on the boat of Dutch writer Jan DeHartog before joining Hiebert to travel Europe. By 1959, they had returned to the United States (Boston, Massachusetts) and married. It was at this point in their lives that they became active in the peace movement and the early Folk Revival. Odell's relationship with Burt Porter continued, and he developed contacts with other musicians including Peter and Polly Gott, Tom "Tom Banjo" Azarian, Mike Seeger, and Tracy Schwartz. The Odells also became involved with the Bread and Puppet Theater group, founded by Peter and Elka Schumann, which established its primary location in Glover, Vermont, near Porter's property.
Odell is particularly notable for his work in musical instrument conservation at the Smithsonian Institution and his involvement in the development of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. In 1963, following his harpsichord apprenticeship with William Dowd, Odell was hired by the Smithsonian as a musical instrument conservator. Under Cynthia Hoover and C. Malcolm Watkins, he established a restoration workshop for musical instruments at the National Museum of History and Technology, now the National Museum of American History. Over the course of his career, Odell served not only as a conservator but also as head of a technical laboratory and, eventually, as the first director of conservation at the National Museum of American History.
Odell was a key figure in the shifting philosophy of the musical instrument department regarding its collections and acquisition practices. With Hoover, Odell helped establish and facilitate a concert series with the mission of "[taking] the instruments out of their cases and [letting] them sing" – a major innovation in museum programming. Odell's commitment to bringing music history and traditions to life manifested in the expansion of the Smithsonian concert series, his relationship with Ralph Rinzler, and his early involvement with the Festival of American Folklife, now the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.
Although his professional training was in working with historical keyboard instruments, Odell's lifelong interest in traditional and regional music had a significant impact on his career. Between 1964 and 1977, when Odell was head of the laboratory at the Smithsonian Institution's Division of Musical Instruments, he undertook a series of collecting trips throughout the Eastern United States to expand the Division's collection of traditional American instruments.
In 1964, Odell and Porter attended the Annual Galax Old Time Fiddlers Convention. Following this initial trip, Hoover and Watkins supported Odell's efforts to, in addition to acquiring objects for the collection, research and record the cultural contexts of those instruments. Over the course of these trips, Odell built personal relationships with many of the musicians and craftspeople with whom he worked, including the Melton-Russell family, Tommy Jarrell, and Fred Cockerham.
Odell retired in 1993, but continued contract work at the Smithsonian. Working for the National Museum of American History, he assisted with the care and description of the Museum's banjo collection, as well as the acquisition of the Grimes and Jeffries dulcimer collection. He has also maintained associations with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. In 1998, Odell co-produced a record through Smithsonian Folkways with folklorist Cecelia Conway titled "Black Banjo Songsters," which focused on the African American banjo tradition and featured many of the artists with whom Odell had built relationships.
Shared Stewardship of Collections:
The Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage acknowledges and respects the right of artists, performers, Folklife Festival participants, community-based scholars, and knowledge-keepers to collaboratively steward representations of themselves and their intangible cultural heritage in media produced, curated, and distributed by the Center. Making this collection accessible to the public is an ongoing process grounded in the Center's commitment to connecting living people and cultures to the materials this collection represents. To view the Center's full shared stewardship policy, which defines our protocols for addressing collections-related inquiries and concerns, please visit https://doi.org/10.25573/data.21771155.
Related Materials note:
Materials relating to Odell's career at the Smithsonian can also be found in the Smithsonian Institution Archives (SIA), particularly in the records of the NMAH Musical History Division.
Materials relating to the Bread and Puppet Theater can also be found in the archives of the Bread and Puppet Theater (via the Internet Archive); the University of Vermont; and the University of California, Davis.
Restrictions:
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Collection documents the activities of Wood & Brooks, a manufacturer of piano keys and actions.
Scope and Contents:
The collection conists primarily of correspondence Charles R. Wood, M.S. Brooks and Hilton C. Brooks, financal and sales records, and some photographs documenting the company's work as manufacturer's of ivory piano keys and piano actions.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into six series.
Series 1: Executive Records, 1889-1949
Series 2: Correspondence, 1890-1932
Series 3: Financial Records, 1891-1932
Series 4: Photographs, 1902-1959
Series 5: Piano Action and Specification Materials, 1927-1959
Series 6: Miscellaneous, 1958
Biographical / Historical:
Charles Raymond Wood founded Wood and Brooks Company in 1901, in North Tonawanda, New York with financial help from Connecticut entrepreneur, M.S. Brooks. The company manufactured piano keys and piano actions. In 1905, Wood and Brooks acquired Seavern Piano Action Company of Cambridge, Massachusettts and in 1910 purchased Kurtz Action Company of Rockford, Illinois.
Source
Dolge, Alfred. Pianos and Their Makers. Development of the piano, Volume II, 1913.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
Pratt, Read and Corporation Records (NMAH.AC.0320)
Warshaw Colletion of Business American, Series: Ivory (NMAH.AC.0060)
Warshaw Colletion of Business American, Series: Pianos (NMAH.AC.0060)
Ernest D. Moore Papers (NMAH.AC.0321)
Otto Gerdau Collection (NMAH.AC.0363)
Sohmer & Co. Records (NMAH.AC.0349)
Steinway & Sons Records and Family Papers (NMAH.AC.0178)
Chickering & Sons Piano Company Collection (NMAH.AC.0264)
Provenance:
Collection donated by Lawrence G. Brady, 1994.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
The collection documents Dowd's career as a maker and scholar of harpsichords through correspondence, photographs, drawings, notes, and financial materials. The collection contains templates and drawings for harpsichords built or restored by Dowd. The collection also documents the activities of small business and its owner in Boston from 1959-1988.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into ten series.
Series 1: William Dowd (Boston Office), 1958-1993
Subseries 1.1: Background Matreials, 1965-1993
Subseries 1.2: Desk Calendars, 1982-1989
Subseries 1.3: Wall Calendars, 1964-1985
Subseries 1.4: Address Books, undated
Subseries 1.5: Telephone Logs, 1985-1988
Subseries 1.6: Catalogs, 1962-1988
Subseries 1.7: Shop Books, 1949-1986
Subseries 1.8: Maintenance, 1981-1993
Series 2: General Files, 1949-1993
Series 3: Design Notes and Drawings, 1952-1990
Subseries 3.1: Drawings, 1952-1990
Subseries 3.2: Design Notes, 1959-1987
Series 4: Suppliers/Services, 1958-1988
Series 5: Owner's Files, 1960s-1980s
Subseries 5.1: Owners Files (alphabetical)
Subseries 5.2: Former Owners (alphabetical)
Series 6: Antique Files, 1949-1979
Series 7: Financial Records, 1961-1987
Series 8: Photographs, 1949-1988
Series 9: Publications, 1969-1994
Series 10: William Dowd (Paris Office), 1971-1985
Series 11: Newspaper Clippings, 1949-1993
Biographical / Historical:
William Richmond Dowd (1922–2008) was an American harpsichord maker. Dowd graduated from Harvard University (1948) and apprenticed with John Challis, a harpsichord maker in Detroit. In 1949, Dowd partnered with Frank Hubbard (1920-1976), a fellow Harvard classmate and harpsichord maker to form Hubbard and Dowd in Boston, operating the Boston School of Harpsichord from 1949-1958. Dowd and Hubbard built harpsichords based on historical principles and dedicated themselves to research and restoration techniques of historical keyboard instruments. The first harpsichords built by Dowd were based on the 1637 Johannes Ruckers single harpsichord. In 1956, Charles Fisher joined the firm as a third partner.
Dowd formed Dowd Harpsichord Shop in 1959, building the Pascal Taskin model of harpsichord. Taskin (1723-1793) was a French harpsichord and piano maker. In 1972, Dowd established an office in Paris in association with Reinhard von Nagel. The Paris office closed in 1985. Dowd closed his workshop in Boston on September 1, 1988 and died in November 1988.
Separated Materials:
The Division of Culture and the Arts (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) contains two harpsichords built by William Dowd. See accessions 1980.0274.1 (Compass: FF-f3. Copy of 1730 Blanchet instrument) and 2009.0229.01 (double manual, serial number 336-75).
Provenance:
The collection was donated by William R. Dowd and Pegram Dowd on June 12, 1997.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
This series consists of publications related to the music, harpsichords, and other keyboard instruments. The materials are arranged alphabetically by title and then chronologically.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Dowd Harpsichord Collection, 1949-1997, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Collection Citation:
Moses and Frances Asch Collection, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005 Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Silver gelatin on cellulose acetate film sheet, 7" X 5".)
Container:
Box 70
Culture:
African Americans -- Washington (D.C.) Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Place:
Washington (D.C.) -- African Americans
Date:
undated
Scope and Contents:
Job Number: 50470
Ink on negative: "Dean W. Lawson and L.V. Jones." Warner Lawson sitting at a piano with another man leaning over his shoulder holding a violin. Lawson was Dean of the School of Music at Howard University. No edge imprint. Cf. AC0618.004.0000255 for an image of another pianist, apparently misidentified as Dean Lawson.
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The collection was acquired with assistance from the Eugene Meyer Foundation. Elihu and Susan Rose and the Save America's Treasures program, provided funds to stabilize, organize, store, and create digital surrogates of some of the negatives. Processing and encoding funded by a grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources.
