Books › Ayars, Contributions to the Art of Music in America by the Music Industries of Boston (1937) — the Squier, Farley, Rettberg, Rockwell and Elias Howe matter, 1937 › scan 136
Scan 136
Ayars, Contributions to the Art of Music in America by the Music Industries of Boston (1937) — the Squier, Farley, Rettberg, Rockwell and Elias Howe matter, 1937
18 lines. Read by computer on 27 September 2026. Printed page 114. See the scan on archive.org.
1sending in orders."[address hidden] 200,[address hidden] pianofortes had been built up to 1932. These consisted of squares, discontinued some years ago, uprights, grands, players with the pianola player reproducing mechanism and Ampico pianofortes. In the last ten years practically only grands and reproducing instruments have been made. The pianofortes have been shipped to all parts of the world from Finland to India.
3One of the most signal awards showing the company's worldwide standing was made at the Exposition Universelle, Paris, France, in 1867. A "First Gold Medal" for excellence had been awarded the Chickering pianoforte by the four juries of six hundred men whose duty it was to make decisions about awards. The Emperor, Napoleon III, in conjunction with the "Superior Council," decided that in addition to the excellence of its instruments, the contribution of the company to the advancement of music called for further recognition. So he issued a "Decree" naming "Mr. Chickering of Boston, Manufacturer and Exhibitor of Pianos, Chevalier of the Legion of Honor," and personally conferred the decoration on Charles Francis Chickering.
5This is the highest award ever made to any pianoforte manufacturer and is still in the possession of the company.
7Incidentally, it may be of interest to note that Mr. Chickering took one of these pianofortes, which had been carefully chosen, as a gift to Liszt in Rome. After playing on it some time before Mr. Chickering and his friend, Mr. Poznanski, Liszt gave Mr. Chickering what he had never before given any pianoforte manufacturer, a testimonial letter setting forth his supreme satisfaction with the Chickering pianoforte. This instrument was Liszt's favorite in Weimar, and it, with another Chickering, is now preserved in the Imperial Conservatory at Budapest, Hungary, by the Government in the room in which the composer left them.6
9In all, the company has received one hundred and thirty-one medals for its pianofortes shown at exhibitions in America and foreign countries. Those awarded at world fairs are as follows:
11Great International Exposition, London, England, 1851.
12Exposition Universelle, Paris, France, 1867.
13Exposition International de Chile, Santiago, 1875.
14International Exhibition, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1876.
165 Tercentenary Letter by Miss M. E. Connell p. 7.
176 Ibid p. 6.
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