Wm. Knabe & Co. was a piano manufacturing company that operated independently in Baltimore, Maryland, from 1855 to 1908, then as a division of the American Piano Company until 1932, then as part of Aeolian-American at East Rochester, New York, until 1982. Since 2001, the name has been owned by Samick Musical Instruments.
History
19th century
Valentin Wilhelm Ludwig Knabe was born in Creuzburg, Saxe-Weimar, on June 3, 1803. The French campaigns in Germany in 1813 prevented him from studying to become an apothecary like his father, and instead he apprenticed with a cabinet maker, after which he worked two years as a journeyman cabinet maker, then for three years for a piano maker in Gotha, before working as a journeyman piano maker in different cities in Germany.
In 1831, Knabe accompanied his fiancée's family when they emigrated from Saxe-Meiningen to the United States, but the head of the family died during the voyage and Knabe and his bride remained in Baltimore instead of continuing to Hermann, Missouri, where a brother had settled several years earlier. Knabe worked for the well-known pianomaker Henry Hartge, and eventually abandoned his plans to become a farmer. In 1831, he started selling and repairing used pianos from his house at the corner of Liberty and Lexington Streets.
Knabe & Gaehle
In 1839, Knabe formed a partnership with Henry Gaehle to make pianos; within two years, they moved to larger workshops at 13 South Liberty Street.The Baltimore Directory for 1845, John Murphy, Baltimore, 1845 p.80 In 1843, they opened warerooms at the corner of Eutaw Street and Cowpen Alley, and four years later removed their warerooms to 9 Eutaw Street, opposite the Eutaw house, selling pianos priced between $180 and $400.advertisement Matchetts Baltimore Director, for 1847–'8 R. J. Matchett, Baltimore. 1847 p.448. By 1852, they had expanded to 4, 6, 8, 9 and 11 Eutaw Street.advertisement Baltimore Wholesale Business Directory and Business Circular, for the Year 1852 I. Hartman, Baltimore, 1852 p.21 Knabe & Gaehle won first premiums for square pianos from the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of Mechanic Arts in 1848, 1849, and 1850, and for grand pianos in 1849.
In 1852, the company reorganized as Knabe, Gaehle & Co. with the admission of Edward Betts as partner,advertisement Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser Gettysburg, Pennsylvania March 29, 1852 and by 1853 advertised their establishment was the largest in the South, employing over 100 workmen.advertisement Baltimore Wholesale Business Directory and Business Circular, for the Year 1853 I. Hartman, Baltimore, 1853 p.28 They manufactured six- to seven-octave pianos with "a double action, like Chickering's", selling for between $200 and $500.advertisement (Erie Music Store) The Erie Observer Erie, Pennsylvania, March 11, 1854 p.4 (issued November 12, 1853)
In November 1854, their factory at Cowpen Alley at the rear of Eutaw House burned, at an estimated loss of $190,000,David A. Dana The Fireman: The Fire Departments of the United States, with a Full Account of All Large Fires James French and Company, Boston. 1858 p.254; the stock alone was valued at $60,000 – "Large Fire in Baltimore" New York Times November 6, 1854 p.4 and five weeks later their factory at Baltimore street near Paca Street burned,J. Thomas Scharf The Chronicles of Baltimore; being a Complete History of "Baltimore Town" and Baltimore City from the Earliest Period to the Present Time Turnbull Brothers, Baltimore 1874 p.547 reportedly with little insurance coverage.
Wm. Knabe & Co. Proceedings started early 1855 in order to dissolve the partnership.William Knabe vs. Henry Gaehle and Edward Betts. Dissolution of Knabe, Gaehle & Co. C17 Baltimore City Superior Court (Chancery Papers) MSA C168; Accession No. 40,200-5143-1/14, MSA No. C168-747 Location: 2/16/6/14. January 17, 1855William Gaehle vs. William Knabe, Edward Betts, and Western Bank of Baltimore. Dissolution of Knabe, Gaehle & Co. C30 Baltimore City Superior Court (Chancery Papers) MSA C168; Accession No. 40,200-5371 MSA No. C168-978 Location: 2/16/6/32 August 31, 1857 Henry Gaehle died, and Knabe advertised that he had purchased all the remaining stock and materials and would continue in business as Wm. Knabe & Co. at the old stand at 1, 3, 5, and 7 North Eutaw Street, opposite the Eutaw house.advertisement Woods' Baltimore Directory, for 1856–'57 John W. Woods, Baltimore p.179 William Gaehle, who had become the senior partner, advertised that he was in business as Wm. Gaehle & Co., manufacturing grand and square pianos at the corner of Pratt and Green streets and with warerooms at the corner of Eutaw and Fayette streets.advertisement Wood's Baltimore Directory 1856, p.119
Knabe purchased a former paper mill at the corner of West and China streets for a new factory, and by 1859 had established warerooms at 207 Baltimore street.advertisement Philadelphia Press, Mar. 21, 1859 He won gold medals for square pianos from the Maryland Institute in 1855, 1856, 1857 and 1858;"Pianos! Pianos!" The Republican Compiler Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, January 18, 1859 p.2; reportedly Knabe only had seven weeks after the dissolution of Knabe, Gaehle & Co. to prepare his piano for the fair in 1855 silver medals from the Metropolitan Institute in Washington, D.C., in 1857; a medal from the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia in 1856; and first premiums from the Mechanics' Institute in Richmond, Virginia, in 1855 and 1856.advertisement The Republican Compiler April 18, 1859 p.3
In 1860, Knabe started building a five-story factory on Eutaw and West streets, but had only completed one of its wings at the outbreak of the American Civil War, which compelled them to seek new trade in the West to make up for the loss of their principal market in the South.Spillane p.133; James W. Sheahan and George P. Upton The Great Conflagration. Chicago: Its Past, Present and Future. Union Publishing Co., Chicago. p.354; Julius Bauer & Co. acted as Knabe's Northwestern agent as well as their New York agent from 1862 until 1873 William Knabe died on May 21, 1864, and was succeeded by his sons William and Ernest J. Knabe , and son-in-law Charles Keidel.
In 1866, Wm Knabe & Co. introduced their agraffe treble, a piano whose agraffe was threaded into a heavier piece of brass instead of directly into the iron frame.William Nordhoff "Improvement in Pianos" United States Patent no. 57,257 April 14, 1866
By 1866, the company employed about 230 workmen and manufactured about a thousand pianos a year,James Parton "The Piano in the United States" The Atlantic monthly vol.20 no.117 p.93—up to 30 a week—including uprights, squares, and grands. The factory was equipped with a steam engine, as well as steam-powered elevators and drying rooms, and had been augmented with a second wide building where grand cases, sounding boards, and actions were manufactured and cases varnished and iron frames gilded."The Piano Forte Manufactory of Knabe & Co., Baltimore" Debow's review, Agricultural, commercial, industrial progress and resources. vol.2, no.1, p. 71-73 Further additions and a cupola completed the factory, which in 1869 fronted 210 feet (64 m) on Eutaw Street and 165 feet (50 m) on West Street."The Great Southern Piano Manufactory" Debow's review, Agricultural, commercial, industrial progress and resources. vol.1, no. 2, 1866, p. 209 Their sales ranked third in the United States, after Steinway & Sons of New York and Chickering & Sons of Boston,"Piano-fortes" The Great Industries of the United States: Being an Historical Summary of the Origin, Growth, and Perfection of the Chief Industrial Arts of this Country J. Burr & Hyde, Hartford. 1873. p331 and by 1870 their output was estimated to be about forty pianos a week, priced between $600 and $2,000."The Knabe Piano" The Columbia Spy Columbia, Pennsylvania August 20, 1870 p.3
In 1873, Wm. Knabe & Co. established their own warerooms at 112 Fifth Avenue in New York. They exhibited grand, square, and upright pianos as well as a Tschudi & Broadwood harpsichord at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia,International Exhibition, 1876. Official Catalogue John R. Nagle and Company, Philadelphia. 1876. p.265 and due to the revised awards system they claimed highest honors along with many of their coexhibitors."Piano Award – Knabe Victory – Unanimous Award of Highest Honors to William Knabe & Co." New York Times October 1, 1876; all of the awards had equal value, but each included specific comments from the judges that the exhibitors could publish as they saw fit – "The Centennial Awards" New York Times September 28, 1876. In 1882, they delivered a rosewood concert grand to the White House for President Chester A. Arthur."A Knabe in the White House" New York Times December 16, 1882 p.5 William Knabe, jr., died in 1889.Daniel Spillane History of the American Pianoforte D. Spillane, New York. 1891. p.132 The company was incorporated with a capital stock of $1,000,000 the same year, with Ernest J. Knabe as president.
Ernest J. Knabe died in 1894Henry Hall, ed. America's Successful Men of Affairs vol.2 The New York Tribune, New York. 1896 p.477 and was succeeded by his sons, both of whom had trained at the factory. Ernest J. Knabe, jr. was elected president and William Knabe, vice president and treasurer.Alfred Dolge Pianos and their Makers vol.2, Covina Publishing Company, Covina CA, 1913. p.121.
20th century
By 1902, Wm. Knabe & Co. had established agencies in Canada and England, and had mortgaged the factory for capital to fund further expansion."Knabe Company Extension – Bond Issue of $450,000 Made by Manufacturers" New York Times May 2, 1903 By 1906, the factory occupied seven buildings with the original buildings extensively expanded, with a total of about of carefully planned floor space"Three Generations of Piano Manufacturers" McClure's Magazine vol.26, The S. S. McClure Co., New York and London. 1906 advertising section p.16m-16n and 765 employees. Although the plant included modern appliances such as individually powered machines and a dust-collection system connected to the boiler, Knabe advertised their standards required their pianos to be carefully handcrafted, so that a plain upright took six months and a grand two years to complete."Inspired Handiwork" The American Monthly Review of Reviews vol.24 1906. advertising section p.41
American Piano Co.
In 1908, Wm. Knabe & Co., with Chickering & Sons and the Foster-Armstrong Co., of East Rochester, New York, formed the American Piano Co. under the laws of New Jersey, headed by Ernst J. Knabe Jr., president, and C. H. W. Foster of Chickering & Sons, and George G. Foster, of Foster-Armstrong, controlling their respective companies as well as Haines Brothers, Marshall & Wendell, Brewster, and J. B. Cook & Co. with a combined output of about 18,000 pianos a year."Piano Makers form $12,000,000 Combine" New York Times June 10, 1908 p.5
Knabe Brothers