John Henry Schomacker (Johann Heinrich Schumacher)

Biography

Johann Heinrich Schumacher, who changed his name to John Henry Schomacker, was born in Schleswig-Holstein on January 1, 1800, and learned piano making in the master schools of Vienna. He established himself at Lahr, Bavaria, around 1830 and came to America in 1837, working for a year with Philadelphia maker E. N. Scherr. In 1838 he partnered with William Bossert in Philadelphia; the partnership dissolved in 1842 when Schomacker chose to strike out on his own. An excellent and ambitious maker, he won a Franklin Institute silver medal in 1845, first prize at the 1848 American Institute Exhibition in New York, and the gold medal at the 1853 Crystal Palace World's Fair. He built a large new factory in 1855 and organized the Schomacker Piano Company as a close corporation in 1856. He retired in 1872 and died on January 16, 1875. From Spillane (1890): J. H. Schomacker was born in Germany in 1800 and learned piano-making in his native country before landing in the United States in 1837. That same year he entered into partnership with Bosert, an American practical piano-maker, forming Bosert & Schomacker in Philadelphia in 1838. The firm won recognition at state and institute fairs and, in 1842, the partners jointly received Patent No. 2,595 for a novel stringing system and action improvement. After Bosert's retirement in 1842, the business continued as the Schomacker Piano Company. In 1864 the firm was organized into a stock company with large capital under the Schomacker & Company name, with Colonel H. W. Gray becoming an officer and later long-serving president. J. H. Schomacker, the founder, died in Philadelphia in 1875; his relative H. C. Schomacker later served as company secretary, keeping the family name attached to the business.

Highlights

• Born Johann Heinrich Schumacher; anglicized name to John Henry Schomacker
• Won awards including the Franklin Institute silver medal (1845), American Institute first prize (1848), and Crystal Palace gold medal (1853)
• Founded the Schomacker Piano Company, incorporating it in 1856
• Born in Germany in 1800, learned piano-making there, and emigrated to the United States in 1837
• Co-founded Bosert & Schomacker in 1838; after Bosert's 1842 retirement the firm was reorganized as the Schomacker Piano Company
• Held Patent No. 2,595 (1842) jointly with Bosert for a stringing system and action improvement
• Died in Philadelphia in 1875, as founder of the firm that in 1864 was organized into a stock company with large capital

Sources

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911), p. 281.

Daniel Spillane, History of the American Pianoforte (1890), pp. 191, 192.

Public domain.