Trayser
Alsatian
piano and melodeon maker
founder
Biography
Trayser, an Alsatian, made pianos and melodeons in Indianapolis as far back as 1849. After drifting about the country he settled in Ripley, Ohio, in 1869, where he started a piano factory. The factory was moved to Richmond, Indiana, in 1872, at which point James S. and Benjamin Starr acquired an interest in the concern. Trayser retired from the business in 1878, whereupon Milo J. Chase entered the firm and it was renamed the Chase Piano Company. The firm subsequently passed through further changes of ownership to become the Starr Piano Company.
Highlights
- Made pianos and melodeons in Indianapolis as early as 1849
- Started a piano factory in Ripley, Ohio in 1869, moved to Richmond, Indiana in 1872
- Retired from the business in 1878, after which it became the Chase Piano Company
Source
Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911), pp. 348, 349.
Public domain.