John Harper

Biography

John Harper is identified by the author as the earliest piano-maker found in Baltimore's historical record, his name appearing in the city directory as early as 1802. He is said to have continued making pianos for many years afterward. A resident of St. Louis reportedly owned an old Harper piano, discussed in a local newspaper, claimed to have been made in 1792 and traceable back to a Baltimore purchase, though the author treats this claim as an old family tradition rather than confirmed fact. James Stewart, later a well-known Baltimore maker in his own right, is described as "a product of his shop," indicating Stewart trained under Harper before establishing his own business. John Harper was one of the numerous small piano-makers active in New York between 1840 and the early 1850s, part of a wave of shops that sprang up in the city before larger manufacturing firms drove most of them out of business by about 1855.

Highlights

• Identified as the earliest piano-maker found in Baltimore records, appearing in the city directory as early as 1802
• Continued making pianos for many years after 1802
• James Stewart was "a product of his shop," i.e., trained under him
• One of the numerous small New York piano-makers active between 1840 and the early 1850s

Source

Daniel Spillane, History of the American Pianoforte (1890), pp. 127, 197.

Public domain.