Twenty years later, Thomas Chickering died, leaving C. Chickering, took charge of the public relations and merchandising aspects of the business and was perhaps even more successful than Jonas Chickering in improving the company's reputation. Just before Jonas Chickering's death, his three sons were signed into the company as partners and the piano company's name became "Chickering & Sons." The oldest of the three brothers, Thomas E. Still, even though Chickering would have to start afresh, his determination soon produced an entirely new and even better factory, but the toll was not without consequences. The Tremont Street facility caught fire in December of 1852 and burned to the ground. Then, tragedy struck the Chickering factory. This offered Jonas both time and money for even more in depth piano research and development. Unlike other artisans who were unable to adapt to rapid growth and intense competition, Chickering was showing no signs of a downturn in production or capitol. By mid-century, Chickering had become extremely successful. With much effort on Chickering's part, and following the commercial, piano merchandising strategies he had learned from Mackay, word of Chickering's superior workmanship quickly spread to cities, towns and villages throughout the United States, Great Britain and Europe.Ĭhickering was one of the companies that succeeded in making the transition from purely hand built production methods to more streamlined industrial procedures. Nevertheless, Chickering was determined to continue with the success that their partnership had procured. The partnership between Jonas Chickering and John Mackay was short lived due to the tragic disappearance of Mackay while on voyage to South America in search of exotic, superior rainforest hardwoods for Chickering's ever more popular pianos. Their partnership soon placed Boston on the map as a major piano building city of the 19th century.
In that short time, though, Chickering's reputation as an inventor and innovator caught the attention and financial backing of John MacKay. The two men worked closely together for three years, then went their separate ways (Stewart migrated to London, England). In 1823, Jonas Chickering joined partnership with James Stewart in Boston, Massachusetts under the company name, Stewart & Chickering. Steinweg's arrival in the United States by more than 30 years. But, in fact, cabinetmaking and piano making apprenticeships by Jonas Chickering predate Henry E.
Home Technical Innovations on Tremont Street, BostonĬhickering & Sons is often compared to Steinway & Sons for progressive innovation and profound technological advances in the history of piano manufacturing.