Sylvanus B. Pond

Biography

Sylvanus B. Pond, of Albany, was connected from 1827 with the Meachams in the retail piano trade there. Around 1840 he joined the New York firm of Firth & Hall, which became Firth, Hall & Pond and, aside from pianos, was known nationally for its extensive publication of instrumental and vocal music. When the firm dissolved in 1847, Pond helped organize the successor house Firth, Pond & Company alongside John Firth, Thaddeus Firth, and William A. Pond. His brother-in-law John Mayell later bought into the firm. The original Firth & Hall house was eventually succeeded by W. A. Pond & Company, ancestor of the later Pond & Company. Sylvanus B. Pond died in 1871 at the age of seventy-nine. Pond was taken into partnership by J. Meacham, Albany musical instrument-makers, in 1825, forming the firm Meacham & Pond. He subsequently left Albany for New York, where he became a distinguished member of the metropolitan music trade. The Meacham & Pond firm, and its successor Meacham & Company, remained well known throughout New York State in connection with the pianoforte and music trade until about 1850.

Highlights

• Taken into partnership by the Meacham brothers of Albany in 1825, forming the firm Meacham & Pond
• Later moved to New York, where he became a distinguished member of the music trade
• Of Albany, associated with the Meachams in the retail piano trade there from 1827
• Joined Firth & Hall around 1840 to form Firth, Hall & Pond
• Died in 1871 at the age of seventy-nine

Source

Daniel Spillane, History of the American Pianoforte (1890), pp. 138, 153, 154, 155.

Public domain.