The American Piano Industry: Episodes in the History of a Great Enterprise By William E. Hettrick. Hillsdale, NY: Pendragon Press, 2020.

Abstract

The history of American industry may be told as a succession of manufacturers who each managed to turn a luxury product for the rich into a necessity for the masses. Fifty years before Henry Ford achieved this goal with the automobile, and a century before Steve Jobs and Bill Gates achieved it with the personal computer, Joseph P. Hale accomplished this with the upright piano in the late nineteenth century. Hale and his fellow manufacturers based their business model on the principle of interchangeable parts, thus establishing a practice that would be embraced by the automobile industry but not the personal computer industry. William E. Hettrick ’ s new book on the American piano industry in the nineteenth century chronicles in extensive detail the inner workings of an industry that was transformed by the technological and marketing innovations of Hale and his contemporaries. Hettrick ’ s study builds on a solid foundation of previous studies of the piano as a technological and marketing achievement. Daniel Spillane ’ s and Alfred Dolge ’ s books (1890 and 1911 – 13, respectively) covered the topic of manufacturing during the same period chronicled by Hettrick. 1 Arthur Loesser ’ s 1954 book used a lively narrative style to make an otherwise dry topic humorous and engaging, while Edwin M. Good took an evolutionary approach to the subject in 1982. 2 James Parakilas ’ s more recent co-authored volume expanded on these earlier studies to provide an accessible and lavishly illustrated book, encompassing technology, education, and portrayals of the piano in popular media. 3 Each of these foundational studies is cited repeatedly throughout Hettrick ’ s book, and their emphasis on methods of social history is reflected in his narrative. The