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 255
Scan 255
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
16 lines. Read by computer on 27 September 2026. Printed page 229. See the scan on archive.org.
1b. Present Day Manufacturers
3THE VEGA CO.
5This business was founded in 1881 as a cooperative enterprise by Julius Nelson with five or six other men, among them C. F. Sundberg and a Mr. Swenson, who had worked in Pehr F. Anderberg's guitar shop in Somerville. Julius, a fine cabinet maker, was the foreman of the guitar and mandolin factory. Gradually Julius and his brother Carl, both of whom came from Sweden to the United States at an early age, bought out the interests of the others who continued as workers in the company,¹ which was then called Vega, meaning star. Carl Nelson became the office and sales manager.
7In 1904 the Nelsons took over A. C. Fairbanks & Co.² which had made only banjos, while The Vega Company had made only guitars and mandolins. After the union of the companies the latter made all three kinds of high grade fretted instruments, under the direction of David L. Day, from the Fairbanks Company, as Sales and General Manager, until 1922 when he went with the Bacon Banjo Co. In 1905 the Nelsons absorbed the plectrum instrument making of Thompson & Odell and added to this about 1909 the brass instrument manufacturing business of the same concern.³ This was done under the name of Standard Band Instrument Company established in 1884 at [address hidden]
9As the result of the taking over of the business of these companies,³ this is the only firm in Boston making simply brass and fretted instruments. The present head of The Vega Company, now located at [address hidden], is William Nelson, the son of Carl Nelson.
11This company's business is primarily manufacturing, of which about 60 per cent is in fretted and plectrum instruments and 40 per cent brass instruments. They make all kinds of brasses except French and Bass horns and more models of trumpets than any other manufacturer in this country, a total of about 1000 a year.
13¹ Information about the founding supplied by A. J. Oettinger whose partners the Nelsons were in the formation of the Musicians' Supply Co.
14² For further information about this company see p. 275.
15³ See also Appendix IV pp. 226-7 and 277.
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