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Vol. 86 July 18, 2026 No. 19

Arthur Wessell

b. January 7, 1875 · American

junior partner executive attorney (trained)
  • Wessell, Nickel & Gross
  • Wessell, Nickel and Gross

Biography

Arthur Wessell, oldest son of Otto Wessell, was born in New York on January 7, 1875. After Columbia grammar school he studied law at Columbia University, was admitted to the bar in April 1899, and was a prominent college athlete, pitching for the university's baseball team. Following his father's death he left the practice of law to help manage the family firm, Wessell, Nickel and Gross, and was elected director and secretary; in 1912 he became vice-president. The text credits his legal training with equipping him to handle the corporation's financial and commercial affairs, and describes him as amiable, well-read, fond of sports, and one of the most popular men in the piano trade. Arthur Wessell, son of founder Otto Wessell, became a junior partner in Wessell, Nickel & Gross after his father's death in 1899, alongside his brother Fernando, Adam Nickel, and Henry Nickel, Jr.

Highlights

  • Son of founder Otto Wessell; became a junior partner in the firm after his father's death in 1899.
  • Studied law at Columbia University and was admitted to the bar in 1899, then left the profession to help manage the family firm after his father's death
  • Elected director and secretary of Wessell, Nickel and Gross, becoming vice-president in 1912
  • Was a prominent college athlete, pitching for Columbia's baseball team

Source

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911); Vol. II (1913), pp. 224, 225.

Public domain.

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