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Vol. 86 July 18, 2026 No. 19

Rufus W. Blake

business manager company head
  • Sterling Company

Biography

Rufus W. Blake is described as the highly energetic head of the Sterling Company of Derby, Conn., following the death of founder Charles A. Sterling. For many years he had served as secretary and general manager under the former firm, and had been identified in a manifold sense with its business. Under Blake the company began manufacturing pianos in 1885 and, in the five years since, created a very large business, with the well-established Sterling organ cited as evidence of the firm's continued progressiveness. Spillane credits Blake with much of the house's ongoing success.

Highlights

  • Longtime secretary and general manager of the Sterling Company under founder Charles A. Sterling.
  • Became head of the firm, which began manufacturing pianos in 1885 and grew rapidly under his leadership.

Source

Daniel Spillane, History of the American Pianoforte (1890), p. 308.

Public domain.

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