Charles Kohler

Biography

Charles Kohler, seeing the demand for a reliable player action created by the advertising of the Aeolian Company and others, established the Auto-Pneumatic Action Company in 1900, securing the assistance of W. J. Keeley, Thomas Danquard, and other experts; the company became perhaps the largest producer of player mechanisms of its time. Born at Newark, N.J., in 1868, Kohler attended public school and studied for one year at Princeton College before turning to piano making at age 20. He established the firm of Kohler & Campbell with John Calvin Campbell, and after Campbell's death in 1908 the credit for organizing the business fell to Kohler, whose factory-organizing and business talent complemented Campbell's ingenious construction. The firm placed over 120,000 pianos on the market within 14 years, with many being carried by other prominent manufacturers in their own warerooms. He is described as naturally modest and of a retiring disposition.

Highlights

• Established the Auto-Pneumatic Action Company in 1900 to produce player-piano actions
• Born at Newark, N.J. in 1868, studied one year at Princeton, and turned to piano making at age 20
• Co-founded Kohler & Campbell, which placed over 120,000 pianos on the market within 14 years

Source

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911), p. 335.

Public domain.