Mathushek Piano Manufacturing Company Frederick Mathushek

in 1866 morris steinert, newly established music seller in new haven, connecticut, convinced mathushek move new york superintend piano manufacturing company newly organized mathushek piano manufacturing company. steinert , investors backed out of concern, , ownership of company passed henry s. parmelee, relative spencer t. parmelee of new haven had patented tuning pin bushing, individual tubular wooden plugs pressed sockets in cast frame hold tuning pins instead of single structural wooden wrest plank bolted frame, , iron frame squares entirely lacking wood structural components in 1862 , 1865. mathushek s grandson described in report in music , drama 1882, parmelee involved in firm start 1868 managed, means...to obtain control of stock except belonging to...mathushek .

alfred dolge, had worked @ factory between 1867 , 1869, wrote newly formed company conducted series of experiments in sounding board construction, , reported preference conventional construction, introduced radical string arrangements in square pianos. tiny 4 feet 10 inch long (147 cm) colibri had earned highest awards piano @ 1867 american institute fair, , both , 6 foot 10 inch long (208 cm) orchestral made use of entire sounding board instead of right hand side in conventional square pianos. combination of straight bridges - linear bridge - , distribution of strings across sounding board , iron frame - equalizing scale, claimed, produced volume , beauty of tone found elsewhere in concert grands.

by 1871 company offered harp form parlor grands concert grands, , within ten years introduced 5 foot 9 inch (175 cm) long square, , upright incorporating tuning pin bushings purpose of holding tune better more conventional designs.

in 1880 mathushek piano mfg. co. established own new york warerooms @ 23 east 14th street, , advertised having more 5,000 in use. 1897 factory located @ washington avenue, @ corner of brown in west haven, , advertised having sold more 30,000 pianos.

the parmelee piano works mathushek piano manufacturing company s instruments made had 1 of first non-experimental fire sprinklers, installed m. seward & son, of new haven based on design patented henry s. parmelee in 1874. parmelee licensed patent , improvements on royalty basis 1879 providence steam , gas pipe. henry s. parmelee patented 7 improvements sprinklers between 1874 , 1882, , received patents sounding board construction in 1884 , upright piano cases in 1885, central part of case angled form music rest.

parmelee died in 1902, company continued manufacturing @ same address.