William P. Emerson
d. 1871
Biography
William P. Emerson started his piano business in Boston in 1849. Dolge suggests he had perhaps more business acumen than mechanical talent or artistic inclination, having built a very large and profitable business within a few years by producing a low-priced instrument. In 1854 he engaged C. C. Briggs, an expert piano maker of standing, to improve the piano's quality, an effort accomplished with such success that a reputation for superior quality was established and the Emerson name became a valuable trademark. Emerson died in 1871, and the business passed to William Moore, who in 1879 sold his interest to P. H. Powers, O. A. Kimball, and J. Gramer, who organized the Emerson Piano Company with Powers as president. From Spillane (1890): William P. Emerson, the original founder of the concern that became the Emerson Piano Company, dated the first year of the business to 1849. Described as deceased at the time of writing, he was said to have possessed a remarkable share of the world's brains and to have demonstrated real business capacity by building a large trade for his instruments within a few years. In 1854 C. C. Briggs, Sr. entered his shop and quickly rose to foreman, introducing the first improvements of distinct value to the Emerson piano; Henry F. Miller, Sr. also spent five years working for Emerson before founding his own firm.
Highlights
- Started his piano business in Boston in 1849, described as having more business acumen than mechanical talent.
- Built a large, profitable business making a low-priced instrument, then in 1854 engaged C. C. Briggs to improve its quality.
- Died in 1871; the Emerson name had become a valuable trademark, and the business passed to William Moore and later to Powers, Kimball, and Gramer.
- Founded the business that became the Emerson Piano Company in 1849
- Deceased at the time of writing; described as having 'a remarkable share of the world's brains' and building a large trade quickly
Sources
Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911), p. 293.
Daniel Spillane, History of the American Pianoforte (1890), p. 173.
Public domain.