J. A. Gutwaldt

Biography

J. A. Gutwaldt was a piano maker active in New York in the early nineteenth century. Many of the German music teachers and musicians then in the city rallied to support him, and he rose rapidly to esteem; his grand pianos were frequently praised by the press in connection with concerts from before 1813 onward. He patented "an improvement in the framework of grands" on August 27, 1818. For some unknown reason his popularity died out after 1830, and little was heard of him thereafter. A claim that he was subsequently employed as foreman in Firth & Hall's piano shop for several years was investigated by the author and found to be erroneous.

Highlights

• Patented an improvement in the framework of grand pianos on August 27, 1818.
• His grand pianos were praised by the press in connection with concerts from before 1813 onward.
• Popularity faded after 1830; an unverified claim that he later worked as foreman for Firth & Hall is called erroneous by the author.

Source

Daniel Spillane, History of the American Pianoforte (1890), p. 107.

Public domain.