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KOHLER &
CAMPBELL
Founded in 1896 as a partnership between
Charles Kohler and J. C. Campbell, in less than 20 years Kohler and Campbell
became the world's leading manufacturer of upright and grand pianos, player
pianos and automatic reproducing actions. The first factory was in a small loft
building on 14th Street in New York City but after the company was established
only a few years the business expanded to such a degree that it moved to much
larger quarters, occupying an entire building built for it at 50th Street and
Eleventh Avenue and continued to expand into adjoining and nearby buildings
until it occupied over one million feet of floor space. Under the direction of
Charles Kohler, who became the entire owner upon Mr. Campbell's death in 1904,
Kohler & Campbell popularized the player piano in America, manufacturing player
actions for other piano makers in its subsidiaries and making available to the
public for the first time the music of the world's leading artists through the
Welte-Mignon reproducing action.
The position of Kohler & Campbell in the piano
industry is well illustrated by the distinguished piano companies either founded
or acquired by it during its 65 years of operation. Among those companies are
Hazelton Brothers, Francis Bacon Piano Company, Behning Piano Company, Milton
Piano Company, Behr Brothers, Brambach Piano Company, Davenport and Treacy
Company, Kroeger Piano Company, McPhail, Stultz and Bauer, Astor Piano Company,
Newton Piano Company, Waldorf Piano Company and Ejur Brothers. Nearly every
major piano manufacturer purchased player actions from the Auto Pneumatic Actior
Company and The Standard Pneumatic Action Company, manufacturing subsidiaries of
Kohler & Campbell during the days of the player piano. Their combined production
exceeded 50,000 player actions per year.
Although through the acquisition of the Francis
Bacon Piano Company, Kohler & Campbell traces its heritage back to 1789, the
date of the founding of the first piano company in America by John Jacob Astor,
progressive leadership and modern production techniques have always been
outstanding attributes of the company. Julius A. White, originally joined the
company in 1921 and became president in 1930. Under his direction, the former
loosely-knit organization was consolidated administratively and the
manufacturing facilities were all brought under one roof. Following World War II,
he move the factories from their 50th Street location to the Bronx and a larger,
more modern building. Again in 1954, seeing that the manufacture of durable
goods in a multi-story urban plant was no longer economically practical, he
engineered the move of the entire manufacturing facility from New York to
Granite Falls, North Carolina. The site was carefully picked for its skilled
woodworkers and it proximity to the heart of the Appalachian hardwood lumber
producing area.
In 1956, the presidency of the company passed
on to a third generation when Charles Kohler White, grandson of the founder,
assumed the position. Charles Kohler White met his accidental death in 1957
after which Charles L. Clayton was elected president. The other officers were:
Rita Kohler White, daughter of the founder, secretary, Robert H. Meuser,
treasurer and Gaylord M. Huffstader, sales manager. The company was represented
by W. 0. Patrick Care; Paul Corbett, Louis J. Nienaber,Bert C Bruce, Sr., Hyrum
B. Summerhays, and E. G. Burghardt .Kobler & Campbell offered a complete line of
spinet and console pianos. The spinet was offered in five models and ten wood
and finish combinations. The console was available in six different models and
eight different finishes. The 45" Studio designed principally for use in studios,
auditoriums or school rooms and it is of extra-rugged construction in three
finishes.
Kohler & Campbell was one of the largest piano
companies in America at one time, producing as many as sixty different names at
a time, many of which were stencils (private labels) during and after the great
depression. Kohler & Campbell purchased many piano factories throughout the
United States. Kohler & Campbell pianos were well built and make excellent entry
level pianos in good condition. Many of their pianos were handcrafted in many
respects. In later years as a result of being manufactured in the heartland of
the American furniture industry where raw material's availability and
craftsmanship were passed on from generation to generation.
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