Earle Brewster Bartlett
b. 1858
Biography
Earle Brewster Bartlett, secretary of the W. W. Kimball Company, was born in 1858 on a farm in Wisconsin. From age nine he earned money picking berries, working as a lather, or helping in a shingle mill. After his school years he taught, then went to Chicago to work as a traveling salesman for D. Appleton and Company, selling their American Encyclopedia. In 1872 he met E. S. Conway, which led to his appointment in 1880 as manager of a W. W. Kimball Company branch store. He was later called to the main Chicago office, made manager of the sales department in 1900, and elected secretary of the company in 1905, overseeing its sales, credit, and correspondence departments. He was described as an indefatigable worker with a charm of character and a frank, open manner, ranked among the strong men of the piano industry.
Highlights
- Worked his way up from a Wisconsin farm and menial jobs to secretary of the W. W. Kimball Company
- Managed the company's sales, credit, and correspondence departments
Source
Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. II (1913), p. 118.
Public domain.