Jacob Doll

Biography

Jacob Doll, described as a man of remarkably forceful nature, spent years studying the making of covered strings and all phases of piano manufacture before starting his own factory in 1884. Adopting new methods of manufacturing and selling, he built substantial success, and as each of his five sons entered the business as his assistants, the enterprise grew into Jacob Doll and Sons, one of the leading firms in the American piano industry. Devoted intensely to his family despite little interest in public prominence, he educated his five sons and cared for his five daughters. He died on November 13, 1911, leaving a fortune of over two million dollars. The firm he founded was turned into a close corporation in 1904 and continued under his sons, all trained by him as practical piano makers. Jacob Doll and Sons were pioneers in manufacturing player pianos and specialized in coin-operated electric pianos. Jacob Doll was born at Rohrbach, in the Grand Duchy of Baden, Germany, in 1849, and left for New York as soon as he finished public school, arriving at fourteen. He found work in a wood-working establishment preparing lumber for piano manufacturers, and the author recalls knowing him from 1869 when Doll was driving a delivery wagon for the mill supplying lumber for portable music stands. Hard-working and economical, Doll saved enough to start his own planing mill in 1871, drawing patronage almost entirely from piano manufacturers and gaining thorough familiarity with the piano trade. In 1875, progressive and ambitious, he began manufacturing entire piano cases, building this into the firm of Jacob Doll and Sons.

Highlights

• Born at Rohrbach in the Grand Duchy of Baden, Germany, in 1849; emigrated to New York at fourteen
• Started his own planing mill in 1871, serving piano manufacturers, after driving a delivery wagon for a lumber mill
• Began manufacturing entire piano cases in 1875, growing the business into Jacob Doll and Sons
• Founded and built up Jacob Doll and Sons into one of the leading piano manufacturers in the United States
• Started his own piano factory in 1884 after thoroughly studying all phases of piano making
• Died November 13, 1911, leaving a fortune of over two million dollars to his family

Source

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. II (1913), pp. 79, 80, 81.

Public domain.