Skip to main content Skip to main navigation
heart-solid My Visit Donate
Home
Press Enter to activate a submenu, down arrow to access the items and Escape to close the submenu.
    • Overview
    • Museums and Zoo
    • Entry and Guidelines
    • Maps and Brochures
    • Dine and Shop
    • Accessibility
    • Visiting with Kids
    • Group Visits
    • Overview
    • Exhibitions
    • Online Events
    • All Events
    • IMAX & Planetarium
    • Overview
    • Topics
    • Collections
    • Research Resources
    • Podcasts
    • Stories
    • Overview
    • For Caregivers
    • For Educators
    • For Students
    • For Academics
    • For Lifelong Learners
    • Overview
    • Become a Member
    • Renew Membership
    • Make a Gift
    • Volunteer
    • Overview
    • Our Organization
    • Our Leadership
    • Reports and Plans
    • Newsdesk
heart-solid My Visit Donate

Manufacturing and Design Records

National Museum of American History

Object Details

sova.nmah.ac.0320_ref261
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep89d2fb830-efbb-49c3-8c59-decd13e4c39e
Collection Donor
Nickse, Hugo
Johnson, Hanford
Collection Creator
Comstock, Cheney and Co.
Pratt, Read and Company
Collection Donor
Steinway, Henry Ziegler
See more items in
Pratt, Read Corporation Records
Pratt, Read Corporation Records / Series 3: Pratt, Read and Company, Pratt, Read and Company, Inc., and Pratt-Read Corporation
Date
1892 - 1968
Archival Repository
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier
NMAH.AC.0320, Subseries 3.10
Type
Archival materials
Collection Citation
Pratt, Read Corporation Records, 1839-1990, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Collection Rights
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Scope and Contents
MANUFACTURING AND DESIGN RECORDS, 1892-1968, document the raw materials used in the manufacturing process, the output of goods produced, and the design and specification of keyboards and action components. The oldest item in this subseries is a private inventory book written by George L. Cheney shortly after he became president of the firm in 1892. It records on hand stocks of ivory, combs, piano keys, ebony and other woods, and real estate property. The register of lumber received, 1936-1947 a continuation of the record begun by Comstock, Cheney & Company in 1926 is an accounting of the various types of wood ordered for use in this industry. Ivory usage is documented in a number of records. Two ivory purchase journals, 1936-1955, record the weight and prices of ivory tusks purchased, by lot number. The tusk ivory receiving reports, 1946-1955 (also arranged by lot number) record the number assigned to each tusk, its quality grade, characteristics, and any defects. The tusk ivory inventory record book, 1950-1953, provides the invoice number and weight of each lot of tusks. Handwritten notes of ivory work done by Grace Schmelke describe one employee's daily piece rate work in the years 1955-1958. The ivory bleaching record is a spiral bound notebook which records the movement of individual tusks into and out of the bleach houses. Other records show the percent of wastage per lot of ivory and the number of keys produced. The file titled "Production Procedures for Ivory and Lumber" contains a number of descriptive narratives concerning the qualities of ivory and wood used in pianos, the procedures involved in bleaching ivory and in processing ivory keyboards, and a step by step description of the ivory shop routine. Also of interest are copies of the formulas used in dyeing piano sharps. Piano production and design records include correspondence and news clippings from 1942-1946 that provide information on the curtailment of piano production during World War II by both Pratt, Read and the piano industry in general. Under regulations imposed by the War Production Board and the Office of Price Administration, raw materials essential to the war effort were not available for piano production and piano prices escalated to levels that discouraged sales. Despite these restrictions, Pratt, Read attempted to maintain a research and development program, examining the possibilities of producing other parts of the piano, such as backs, boards, ribs, and cases. This effort is documented in the correspondence files of Peter Comstock, 1943 1945, which also contain information about the whole piano industry's attempts to cope with wartime restrictions. Peter Calamari's files document a postwar cooperative effort with the Aeolian American Piano Company to produce a player piano. They include correspondence, drawings, specifications, and photoprints. Action specification books were kept by type of piano regular, upright, and grand. The books, dating from 1927 1968, are arranged alphabetically by customer name. Information is provided on the style, size, specifications, and price of keys, sharps, actions, and other components sold to each company. Oversize blueprint drawings of piano actions dating from 1924 to 1957 are also found in this subseries. Other drawings include artists' views for several pianos designed by Benjamin J. Beck, 1944; designs for a folding keyboard, 1946; and designs for the K 4 piano assembly, 1947.
Collection Restrictions
Collection open for research on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
NMAH.AC.0320_ref261
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep89d2fb830-efbb-49c3-8c59-decd13e4c39e
NMAH.AC.0320
ACAH
Record ID
ebl-1505493610265-1505493610501-0

  • Pratt, Read Corporation Records


Discover More

  • donuts

    Doughnut vs. Donut

  • International Sweethearts of Rhythm

    International Sweethearts of Rhythm

  • 3 children in a wicker baby carriage with an American flag.

    Arab American Heritage Month

  • Greetings from New Jersey 37 cent stamp.

    Explore America: New Jersey

  • Puerto Rico forever stamp with flag.

    Explore America: Puerto Rico

  • public health nurse uniform

    Women of Public Health

  • Greetings from Wisconsin

    Explore America: Wisconsin

  • Greetings from Maine 37 cent stamp.

    Explore America: Maine

  • District of Columbia 37 cent stamp.

    Explore America: Washington, D.C.

  • antique fire hat

    Irish American History and Heritage

  • Greetings from Ohio 37 cent stamp.

    Explore America: Ohio

  • Duke Ellington

    Duke Ellington: Jazz Legend and Cultural Icon

  • Greetings from Wyoming 37 cent stamp.

    Explore America: Wyoming

  • Greetings from Michigan stamp

    Explore America: Michigan

  • Portrait of Billie Holiday

    Lady Day: Billie Holiday

  • Santa Claus on a shopping bag.

    Must Be Santa

  • chocolate bar

    Cocoa and Chocolate

  • Related Exhibitions

  • First Lady of Opera

  • Valentine Votes for Women

    Be Mine: Vintage Valentines and Expressions of Love

  • Capital Connections

  • Greetings from Montana 37 cent stamp.

    Explore America: Montana

  • Greetings from Oregon 37 cent stamp.

    Explore America: Oregon

  • Greetings from North Dakota 37 cent stamp.

    Explore America: North Dakota


  1. Current page 1
  2. Page 2
  3. Page 3
  4. Page 4
  5. Page 5
  6. Next page Next
  7. Last page Last
arrow-up Back to top
Home
  • Facebook facebook
  • Instagram instagram
  • LinkedIn linkedin
  • YouTube youtube

  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Get Involved
  • Inspector General
  • Records Requests
  • Accessibility
  • EEO & Small Business
  • Shop Online
  • Host Your Event
  • Press Room
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use