Julius Schiedmayer

Biography

A younger son of Johann Lorenz Schiedmayer, Julius Schiedmayer devoted himself, with his brother Paul, to building harmoniums, spending several years in London and Paris (studying especially with Debain and Alexander) before establishing J. & P. Schiedmayer in Stuttgart in 1853. As the upright piano displaced the harmonium in the market, the firm turned to piano manufacture in 1860 and was eventually renamed the Schiedmayer Pianofabrik, becoming among the first German makers to adopt the overstrung system and full iron frame; it was later appointed purveyor to numerous royal courts and won grand prizes at the 1900 Paris and 1904 St. Louis World's Fairs. Julius Schiedmayer himself was appointed Counselor of Commerce by the King of Wurtemburg and served as a juror of piano exhibits at the World's Fairs of London (1862), Stettin (1864), Paris (1867), Vienna (1873), and Philadelphia (1876), receiving decorations from the Emperor of Austria and the Kings of Wurtemburg and Italy. He died at Stuttgart in January 1878. A portrait of Julius Schiedmayer accompanies the text.

Highlights

• With brother Paul, founded J. & P. Schiedmayer in Stuttgart in 1853, initially building harmoniums before turning to pianos in 1860
• Appointed Counselor of Commerce by the King of Wurtemburg and served as juror at World's Fairs in London (1862), Stettin (1864), Paris (1867), Vienna (1873), and Philadelphia (1876)
• Died at Stuttgart in January 1878

Source

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911), pp. 229, 230, 231.

Public domain.