Leopold Peck

Biography

Leopold Peck was born in Gitschin, Austria, in 1842, and died at Elberon, New Jersey, in June 1904. He took an active part in the management of the Hardman concern beginning in 1880, making the further development of the Hardman piano his central object, and soon raised it to the front rank of high-class products. Many years before his death he had acquired the entire business of Hardman, Peck and Company. Described as a man of great force, his success is credited to remarkable business talent and progressiveness. After his death, management of the firm passed to his son, Alfred L. Peck. Leopold Peck bought an interest in Hugh Hardman's New York piano firm in 1880, at which point the business was renamed Hardman, Peck & Company. Dolge credits Peck's able management with raising the firm to a recognized position among the makers of high-grade pianos, its instruments ranking among the best in the market. No dates, origins, or further individual biographical details are supplied for Peck beyond his role in acquiring an interest in and managing the firm. Leopold Peck partnered with Henry Behr in the manufacture of piano cases under the firm name Behr and Peck, after Behr acquired the stock and machinery of a bankrupt customer around 1875. In 1876 Henry Behr's brother Edward bought out Peck's interest, and the firm name changed to Behr Brothers. From Spillane (1890): Leopold Peck, together with John Hardman, was a principal of Hardman, Peck & Company. When Peck was taken into the firm, a new stimulus was given to its commercial fortunes; he is described as a shrewd and aggressive member of the piano trade. The association of the 'Hardman' piano with music in New York during the preceding five years, and the opening of the firm's elegant Fifth Avenue warerooms, is ascribed to Peck's personal judgment and good taste.

Highlights

• Bought an interest in the Hardman firm in 1880, prompting the name change to Hardman, Peck & Company.
• Under his able management the firm rose to a recognized position among makers of high-grade pianos.
• Partnered with Henry Behr in a piano case manufacturing business under the name Behr and Peck
• His interest in the firm was bought out by Edward Behr in 1876, after which the firm became Behr Brothers
• Took an active management role in Hardman, Peck and Company in 1880 and later acquired the entire business
• Credited with building the Hardman piano's reputation as a front-rank high-class product
• Became a principal of Hardman, Peck & Company alongside John Hardman, giving new stimulus to the firm's commercial fortunes
• Described as a shrewd and aggressive member of the piano trade
• Credited with the taste behind the firm's elegant Fifth Avenue warerooms

Sources

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911); Vol. II (1913), pp. 41, 109.

Daniel Spillane, History of the American Pianoforte (1890), p. 301.

Public domain.