Charles Raymond Wood

Biography

Charles Raymond Wood entered the employ of Pratt, Reed and Company of Deep River, Conn., in 1888 at the age of twenty, and four years later was appointed superintendent of its factories. In 1901 he organized the Wood and Brooks Company of Buffalo, N.Y., serving as its treasurer and general manager. Described as a shrewd, daring and aggressive businessman with an eye for practical economy and an unerring judgment in choosing subordinates, he designed many of the firm's labor-saving machines himself, including an automatic device for bushing all eighty-eight keys or action parts of a set in a single stroke. Under his direction the company grew to supply roughly 100,000 piano actions and 100,000 sets of ivory keys annually -- about a third of the industry's total -- sourcing its own ivory via expeditions to Africa. He paid the highest wages of any Buffalo industry, believing high-priced labor the most economical in the long run. In 1905 the company acquired the Seaverns Action Company, and in 1910 the Kurtz Action Company of Rockford, Ill. Described as a princely entertainer who preferred family life to club rooms, he traveled periodically to Europe and to visit customers.

Highlights

• Joined Pratt, Reed and Company in Deep River, Conn., in 1888 at age twenty, became factory superintendent by 1892
• Organized the Wood and Brooks Company in 1901, serving as treasurer and general manager
• Company supplied about one-third of all piano keys and actions used in the trade; acquired the Seaverns Action Company (1905) and Kurtz Action Company (1910)

Source

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. II (1913), pp. 228, 229.

Public domain.