Steinway & Sons Records and Family Papers
name: label: Creator
content: Steinway, William
label: Creator
content: Steinway, Henry Ziegler
label: Creator
content: Steinway family
label: Creator
content: Steinway & Sons
label: Creator
content: Krüsi, Bartholomew, Rev.
label: Names
content: CBS
label: Names
content: German Presbyterian Church (New York, N.Y.)
label: Former owner
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Musical History
label: Names
content: Lehman, Lilly
label: Names
content: Steinway, Fred T., 1860-1927
label: Names
content: Steinway, Henry (Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg), 1797-1871
label: Names
content: Steinway, John
label: Names
content: Steinway, Theodore (C.F. Theodore Steinweg), 1825-1889
place: label: Place
content: United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
topic: label: Topic
content: Keyboard instruments -- Manufacturing
label: Topic
content: Travel
label: Topic
content: Politics -- New York (N.Y.)
label: Topic
content: Church Interiors
label: Topic
content: Piano
label: Topic
content: Piano makers
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Henry Z. Steinway donated the William Steinway diary on April 2, 1996.
creator: label: Creator
content: Steinway, William
label: Creator
content: Steinway, Henry Ziegler
label: Creator
content: Steinway family
label: Creator
content: Steinway & Sons
label: Creator
content: Krüsi, Bartholomew, Rev.
setName: label: See more items in
content: Steinway & Sons Records and Family Papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: Records of the Steinway & Sons piano company and a daily diary of William Steinway, a key figure in the rise of the company to international prominence in the nineteenth century.  The records document overall operations of the company, individual piano serial numbers, and the business and personal life of William Steinway, a prominent figure in New York business, politics, and musical life.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Heinrich Engelhard Steinway (Steinweg) (born 1797, Wolfshagen, Germany; died 1871, New York City) made his first piano in 1836.  In 1850 he immigrated to America and settled in New York City with his wife, three daughters, and four of his five sons.  He and his sons Charles, Henry, Jr., and William at first worked for various New York piano makers until 1853 when they formed the partnership of Steinway & Sons.  One year later Steinway & Sons' square pianos won first prize at the Metropolitan Mechanics Institute Exhibition (held at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.) and in 1855 won the Gold medal for the best piano (an over-strung iron-frame square piano) in the American Institute Fair at the Crystal Palace in New York City.  In 1859, Henry, Jr. patented (patent no. 26,532, December 20, 1859) a design for a one-piece over-strung iron frame for the grand piano that won praise, a gold medal, and international recognition at the 1867 Paris Exposition.  

The firm faced a crisis in 1865 when two of Heinrich's sons died: Henry (born 1831), who was responsible for the first seven patents, and Charles (born 1829).   The family prevailed on the eldest son, C. F. Theodor (1825 1889), to sell his partnership as a piano manufacturer in Braunschweig, Germany, and to join his family in New York City.  Not eager to sever all his ties in Germany, Theodor spent time in both countries until his death, contributing technical innovations that resulted in forty-one patents.  One of these patents was for the duplex scale in 1872.  Several of the following generation worked with the firm, including Fred T. Steinway (1860-1927), son of Charles, who served in London, Hamburg, and New York City. 

C. F. Theodor Steinway's technical skills were matched by the entrepreneurial skills of his brother William (1835 1896).  William was a creative businessman who played the piano, sang tenor, and supported the musical life of New York City.  His promotional and marketing techniques, and his cultivation of eminent musicians and association with aristocratic patrons, helped to make Steinway & Sons so successful.  William Steinway was prominent in New York City social and political life.  

In 1880, Steinway & Sons opened a Hamburg branch.  The firm was sold in 1972 to CBS.  Subsequent owners include the Birmingham Brothers (Steinway Musical Properties, 1985-1995) and Steinway Musical Instruments, Inc. (1995-).
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 6 Cubic feet (12 boxes, including photographs and microfilm)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1857-1919
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: Microfilm copies of the eleven reels of serial number books were lent to the museum by Henry and John Steinway for duplication in 1988.  The Steinways lent the original minute books, correspondence, and inventories for microfilming in 1989.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0178
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Business records
label: Type
content: Diaries
label: Type
content: Catalogs
label: Type
content: Correspondence
label: Type
content: Microfilms
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Minute books
label: Type
content: Business letters
label: Type
content: Love letters
label: Type
content: Letters
label: Type
content: Letter books
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Series 1, William Steinway Diary, 1861-1896

Series 2, Steinway Business Records, 1858-1910 

Series 3, Steinway Family Materials, 1877-1882

Series 4, Rev. Bartholomew Krüsi Materials, 1857-1919
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Processed by Robert S. Harding, archivist, January 5, 1990; revised Craig A. Orr, archivist, March 28, 1990; May 31, 1996; August 21, 1996; revised Anne Jones (volunteer) June 30, 2005; John Fleckner, archivist,  August 1, 2008.

Cynthia Hoover, curator emeritus at the National Museum of American History, was director and co-editor of a project to create a scholarly edition of the William Steinway Diary on-line.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: Eleven microfilm reels (positive) of the serial number books and four microfilm reels (positive) of  the company and family records are located in the museum's library (call number MFM 1176).  A second set of these reels is in the Steinway Diary Project office.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Business records
label: Genre/Form
content: Diaries
label: Genre/Form
content: Catalogs
label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence -- 1930-1950
label: Genre/Form
content: Microfilms -- Negative
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- 1850-1900
label: Genre/Form
content: Minute books
label: Genre/Form
content: Business letters
label: Genre/Form
content: Love letters
label: Genre/Form
content: Letters
label: Genre/Form
content: Letter books
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- Black-and-white photoprints -- 1900-1910
originalsloc: label: Existence and Location of Originals
content: Originals of microfilmed materials in this collection are found in the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives at LaGuardia Community College/CUNY, Long Island City, New York.  Some originals also may be with the Steinway family.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The collection consists of an original diary (and microfilm copies) kept by William Steinway and microfilm copies of nineteenth century business records of Steinway & Sons.  There also are business and family photographs and some miscellaneous documents.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Materials at the Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Industry on Parade (NMAH.AC.0507)

Reel # 156, Before the Concert, 1953. Making pianos. Steinway and Sons, Long Island, New York. 


N W Ayer Advertising Agency Records (NMAH.AC.0059)

Contains advertising proof sheets for Steinway & Sons from 1900 through 1963.  The Piano series of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana contains five folders of material on Steinway.  The Industry on Parade Film Collection has a short, 1953 film (reel #156) on Steinway's manufacture of pianos in its Long Island plant.  The Sohmer & Company Records contain three folders of trade literature from Steinway.  These include catalogs, pamphlets, and booklets on the Steinway family genealogy and on the Steinway piano used at the White House.  Sohmer, also a New York City piano manufacturer, collected copies of competitors' sales catalogs and other publications.    

Materials at Other Organizations

The LaGuardia and Wagner Archives at LaGuardia Community College/CUNY is the largest repository of Steinway materials.  It holds extensive business records as well as personal papers and photographs.  The Steinway family loaned seventy folders of Steinway family correspondence to the National Museum of American History in October, 1984, and a program of transcription and translation was begun by the Steinway Diary Project.  The original correspondence was transferred to the Archives Center in August 1985 and, at the request of Henry Z. Steinway, transferred to the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives in March, 1990.  Additional Steinway materials are at the New York Historical Society, the University of Maryland Performing Arts Library, and other repositories.  The control file for this collection has further information on the location of Steinway materials.
separatedmaterial: label: Separated Materials
content: The Division of Culture and the Arts (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) holds several Steinway and Sons pianos.