Raven

Biography

Raven joined the New York piano firm after Dubois and Chambers withdrew, and the business was renamed Bacon & Raven, later changed to Raven & Bacon following George Bacon's death in 1856. The firm eventually became the Bacon Piano Company. From Spillane (1890): Richard Raven was a piano manufacturer whose name was attached to the firm of Raven & Bacon, prominent in the New York trade from 1853. In 1851, together with George Bacon, he recorded U.S. Patent No. 8320 for an improved metal plate for square pianos featuring a peculiar and ingenious adjustment of the bridges, described as indicative of the ability the makers displayed throughout their careers.

Highlights

• Joined the firm after Dubois and Chambers withdrew, forming Bacon & Raven
• Apprenticed with William Geib & Company before joining the Bacon firm.
• Firm became Bacon & Raven, then Raven & Bacon in 1856.
• With George Bacon, recorded U.S. Patent No. 8320 (1851) for an improved metal plate for square pianos.

Sources

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911), p. 277.

Daniel Spillane, History of the American Pianoforte (1890), p. 224.

Public domain.