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 34
Scan 34
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 19 September 2026. Printed page 12. See the scan on archive.org.
1in a partner for two years as Keith & Moore." As "a music dealer and publisher he continued under his own name until 1846 18 when the catalog was purchased by Oliver Ditson & Co." 19
3The firm of W. H. Oakes was in business 1840-1851; at [address hidden] in 1847, and in 1850 at [address hidden]
5Charles Edward Horn 20 was born in London, 1788, and died in Boston in 1849. He came to America in 1833 and to Boston in 1847 as conductor of the Handel and Haydn Society. He was a composer of English operas, an opera singer, conductor and publisher.
7Eben H. Wade, John Ashton's former partner, did some publishing at [address hidden] between 1847 and 1856. In 1852 he advertised that his catalog comprised all of the music published by W. H. Oakes, C. Bradlee & Co. and A. & T. P. Ordway, making it the largest in the country. He stated he was also "publisher of Bertini's Method for the Piano." 21
9Elias Howe, Jr. (1820-1895) was a farm boy from Framingham who played the fiddle and made his own collection of jigs, reels, songs and popular tunes of the day, The Musician's Companion, when he was just twenty years old. He found a printer who had music type and was willing to print the volume even though he had to wait for his pay until Mr. Howe could obtain the money by selling the books. As this was the first collection published in the United States of this type of popular music arranged for violin, 22 the music dealers would not handle it for fear of ruining their sales of sheet music. So young Howe sold this volume through newspaper stands, book stores and anyone who would take it. As the price was reasonable the collection soon became popular, selling all over New England and gradually all over the country, so that the music dealers found it desirable to handle.
11Encouraged by this success, Elias Howe, Jr. established his own publishing business, which is first listed in the Boston City Directory of 1843 at [address hidden]. He soon prepared and brought out instruction books also for violin, woodwind, accordeon, and
1318 It appears in the Boston Directory of 1850 at [address hidden]
1419 From Fisher, William Arms. One Hundred and Fifty Years of Music Publishing in the United States p. 115.
1520 Boston Music Directory 1929, Significant Names in Boston's Musical History—A Roll of Honor p. 9.
1621 Dwight's Journal of Music 1852 Vol. 1, No. 1 p. 8.
1722 Statement of Edward F. Howe, son of Elias Howe.
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.