C. Frank Chickering

Biography

C. Frank Chickering was born in Boston on January 20, 1827. Following the death of his brother Thomas, he became head of the firm; he had already been in charge of the construction department since his father Jonas Chickering's death in 1853, having inherited his father's talents as designer and inventor. As a young man he impaired his health while studying and, on his physician's advice, in 1844 sailed to India, selling the pianos he brought along at good prices and making Chickering & Sons the first exporter of American-made pianos. In 1851 he accompanied his father to the London World's Fair, an experience he put to great effect on his return. He directed the firm's New York warerooms and in 1875 erected Chickering Hall on Fifth Avenue, where leading virtuosos performed on Chickering grand pianos he had designed. At the 1867 Paris World's Fair he was decorated by the Emperor of the French with the Cross of the Legion of Honor. Described by Dolge as 'one of nature's noblemen' who recalled the Grand Seigneurs of Louis XIV's time, he died in New York on March 25, 1891. Frank Chickering (referred to at first simply as 'Frank Chickering') was, with his brother George, a leader of Chickering & Sons of Boston, the piano business founded by their father Jonas Chickering and built up by him and his sons. Because neither Frank nor George had sons to carry on the business, in 1876 they importuned Josiah B. Chickering, of Cincinnati, to send his own sons into the piano trade. Clifford C. Chickering entered the Boston factory in 1881 and, after seven years working at the bench, was called to New York, where for two years he studied scale-drawing directly under C. Frank Chickering. Clifford had the honor of finishing the last scale, for a new grand piano, that Frank Chickering had drawn shortly before his death in 1891; following Frank's death, Chickering and Sons was reorganized and Clifford struck out on his own to found Chickering Brothers in Chicago. From Spillane (1890): C. Frank Chickering, born in Boston on June 20, 1827, was the present senior member of Chickering & Sons at the time of writing and had served as its practical and inventive head since his father Jonas Chickering's death in 1853. He was trained in the business under his father's personal supervision, and in 1844 was sent to India for his health, taking Chickering pianos along that were sold in Calcutta to considerable praise. In 1851 he visited London and helped exhibit Chickering pianos at the World's Fair. From 1853 he took charge, with his brothers, of the firm's technical development, refining the 'circular scale' in 1854 into two scales regarded as among the best ever produced in America, and producing overstringing in an upright piano around the same period. He held a long series of patents for Chickering & Sons covering scale, frame, and acoustic improvements issued between 1853 and 1886. He was also the principal figure in the discovery of J. H. Paine's hidden fortune, having summoned Paine's lawyer immediately after Paine's death. Frank Chickering was a very young man in 1851 when he accompanied his father, Jonas Chickering, to England to help superintend their firm's exhibit at the London World's Fair. The instruments shown there carried off the highest honors, and the London Times singled out the American pianos for praise even as it found little else to commend among the American exhibits generally.

Highlights

• Took charge of the construction department after his father's death in 1853, having inherited his father's talents as designer and inventor
• Sailed to India in 1844 selling Chickering pianos, making the firm the first exporter of American-made pianos
• Built Chickering Hall on Fifth Avenue, New York, in 1875, and was decorated with the Cross of the Legion of Honor by the Emperor of the French at the 1867 Paris World's Fair
• Son of Jonas Chickering; ran Chickering & Sons of Boston with his brother George but had no sons of his own to succeed him
• In 1876 asked Josiah B. Chickering to send his sons into the piano trade
• Personally taught Clifford C. Chickering scale-drawing for two years in New York; Clifford completed the last grand piano scale Frank had drawn before his death in 1891
• Carried on the Chickering & Sons business alongside George H. Chickering after Jonas Chickering's death.
• Described by Spillane as 'thoroughly educated in the details of the manufacturing and commercial departments of the business.'
• Accompanied his father Jonas Chickering to England as a young man for the 1851 London World's Fair
• Became the practical and inventive head of Chickering & Sons upon his father Jonas Chickering's death in 1853
• Developed refined versions of the 'circular scale' in 1854, called among the best scales ever produced in the country, and produced overstringing in an upright piano around the same time
• Held numerous patents for Chickering & Sons (including Nos. 32,119; 121,334; 134,194; 175,336; 177,332; 247,887; and 330,292) covering improvements in scales, frames, and acoustics
• As a young man in 1844 carried Chickering pianos on a health trip to India, selling them in Calcutta to acclaim; in 1851 helped exhibit Chickering pianos at London's Great World's Fair
• Discovered and revealed the hidden fortune of the recluse J. H. ('Miser') Paine after Paine's death

Sources

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911), pp. 273, 275; Vol. II (1913), pp. 69, 70.

Daniel Spillane, History of the American Pianoforte (1890), pp. 262, 263, 264, 265, 268.

Public domain.