Henry F. Miller

Biography

Henry F. Miller worked for the enterprising piano maker Emerson before, in 1863, starting his own piano in partnership with J. H. Gibson, an expert scale draughtsman and constructor, under the name 'Miller.' As success followed, Miller admitted his five sons to partnership, and the business was incorporated as Henry F. Miller & Sons Piano Company. He died on August 4, 1884, at Wakefield. His sons, under the leadership of Henry F. Miller, Jr., continued to improve the instrument, which came to be used by many leading virtuosos, and the firm became known among the first advocates of architecturally correct piano case design. Miller was born at Providence, R.I., on September 25, 1825, and was educated as a musician, acquiring a reputation especially as an organist. His commercial inclination, however, led him to accept an offer from the Boston piano makers Brown & Allen to join their forces in 1850, where he studied with the concern for at least seven years (the text is cut off at this point). The firm later bearing his name, Henry F. Miller & Sons Piano Company, was cited among those that helped keep Boston at the front of American piano manufacturing. From Spillane (1890): Henry F. Miller, Sr., father of the firm of Henry F. Miller & Sons, was born in Providence, R.I., on September 4, 1825, the son of a prominent, wealthy jeweler, and received a good education. Showing musical precocity as a child, he studied under a Polish pianist and musician in Providence, then took up the organ, eventually serving as organist at the First Universalist Church and later the First Baptist Church in Providence. He also worked at watch-making and jewelry in his father's store, mechanical training he later credited as invaluable. His transition into piano making came through evaluating instruments as a musician, which brought him into correspondence with Boston makers; at twenty-five he received an offer to join Brown & Allen in Boston. After more than twelve years across various branches of the trade, including five years with W. P. Emerson, he left Emerson's employ in 1863, at the height of the Civil War, to found his own business with N. M. Lowe and J. H. Gibson. Lowe soon sold his interest to Miller, who in turn later bought out Gibson's interest, becoming sole owner of what became H. F. Miller & Sons.

Highlights

• Born at Providence, R.I., on September 25, 1825; educated as a musician and acquired a reputation especially as an organist
• Joined the Boston piano makers Brown & Allen in 1850, drawn by commercial inclination despite his musical training
• Firm named for him, Henry F. Miller & Sons Piano Company, was among those keeping Boston to the front in piano manufacturing
• Left a position with piano maker Emerson to start the 'Miller' piano in 1863 with scale draughtsman J.H. Gibson
• Admitted his five sons to partnership, and the firm was incorporated as Henry F. Miller & Sons Piano Company
• Died August 4, 1884, at Wakefield
• Founded the Boston piano house that became H. F. Miller & Sons
• Died August 14, 1884, at Wakefield, Massachusetts
• His firm was praised for high moral business methods and fair treatment of workmen, comparable to Alfred Dolge
• Named by Spillane among exemplary American piano-trade citizens, alongside Chickering, Gray, and Hazelton
• Born in Providence, R.I. in 1825 to a wealthy jeweler; trained as a musician and organist before entering the piano trade
• Served as organist of the First Universalist and later First Baptist Church in Providence
• Joined Brown & Allen at twenty-five, then spent five years with W. P. Emerson before founding H. F. Miller & Sons in 1863 with N. M. Lowe and J. H. Gibson

Sources

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911), p. 337.

Daniel Spillane, History of the American Pianoforte (1890), pp. 167, 175, 176.

Public domain.