Inventor Name
Steinway Piano Company
Repository
National Museum of American History
Smithsonian Institution
Archives Center
P.O. Box 37012
MRC 601/Room 1100
Washington, DC 20013-7012
202-633-3270
http://americanhistory.si.edu/archives
Physical Description
6 cubic feet, 12 boxes
Summary
In 1836 Henrich Engelhard Steinway (Steinweg) (b. 2/15/1797, Wolfshagen, Germany; d. 2/7/1871, New York City) made his first piano. In 1850 he emigrated to America and settled in New York City. After studying English and working at various New York piano factories with four of his sons, he established his own shop in 1853. In 1854 the firm received a prize for a square piano at the Metropolitan Fair in Washington and in 1855 a prize at the American Institute Fair for an over-strung iron-framed square piano. The Steinway iron frame of 1855 was adopted for grand pianos a few years later, and became the model for future pianos. The iron-framed square was the prevailing model in America through much of the nineteenth century. The firm produced its first upright in 1862 and its last square pianos in 1888. In 1865 two of Henrich's sons died: Henry (b. 1831), who was responsible for the first seven patents, and Charles (b. 1829). The eldest son, C.F. Theodore Steinweg (1825-89), sold his business in Germany and joined his father and remaining brothers in New York. Theodore Steinway registered forty-one patents during his twenty years in America. One of these was for the duplex scale in 1872. Theodore's technical skills were matched by his brother William's (1836-96) entrepreneurial skills. He was a creative businessman who was interested in music and played the piano. It was his promotional and marketing techniques, following those of the great piano makers of the past, his cultivation of eminent musicians, and his association with aristocratic patrons that helped make the Steinway Piano Companmy so successful. Steinway pianos of the 1880s were basically modern pianos, a generation ahead of their competitors. In 1880 the company opened a branch in Hamburg, at which time the annual production of this factory and the one in New York was 2500 pianos. Although the firm was sold in 1972 to CBS, the family continues to be associated with the business. The collection contains: diaries of WIlliam Steinway in nine volumes, 1861-1896, plus microfilm copies of the diaries; William's brother Theodore's handwritten notes on William's diary entries; William Steinway's office diary (about 20 sheets) 1882-1896; and handwritten pencil notes by an unknown author, possibly Paula Steinway van Bernuth, beinning in 1872. Also Steinway Family correspondence from the second half of the nineteenth century and business records of the Steinway and Sons firms. It includes letters that discuss family history and genealogy, love letters, health matters, financial matters, including investment advice, inheritance and tax implications, and various family trips around the world, politics, the Civil War, botany, and musical concerts. Also, letters on piano construction, including details on casemaking, soundboards, hammers, and ribs. Piano diagrams are included. Other letters discuss types of materials used or considered: wood, strings, and glues; sound vibrations and string techniques and acoustics of tension; soundboard installation; workers' demands; competitors' actions (Chickering); amalgamation of New York and Hamburg firms; details of Steinway Piano Company business, including merchandising, sales, and delivery of Steinway pianos. Four negative microfilm rolls of business records of Steinway & Sons Piano Company include a minute book, 1876-1909; correspondence, 1887-1888, including a Fred T. Steinway letter book, London, 1887-1888, and a second from Hamburg, 1887-1891; and inventory books, 1856-1903.
Finding Aid
http://amhistory.si.edu/archives/AC0178.htm