(photo courtesy of Galesburg Public Library)ДЄt one time the factory was on South Kellogg Street (exact address unknown). We think the showroom and offices of the Galesburg Piano Company were there in 1902 and we know they were there in 1909. It has housed many businesses through the years. This beautiful building was built in 1895, and is still in use today. The Galesburg Piano Company was located on the southeast corner of Cherry and Simmons Streets. Ah, the joys of competition! Galesburg Piano Company, date unknown (photo courtesy of Tom Foley) It is also important to note that the Galesburg Piano Company may have been the only piano manufacturer in the area, but it was not the only piano retailer in town. I canвЂ™t help but wonder how the Knox alums and students of that time felt about owning a Lombard piano, regardless of the quality. Founded along with the town in 1837, Knox College continues to this day. Galesburg was founded on the plan of building a college which came to be known as Knox College. Naming the piano Lombard might have been a bold move. After the closing of the college, the campus became Lombard Junior High, and later Lombard Middle School. Among its notable alumni is Carl Sandburg. Lombard College was founded in 1853 and closed in 1930. Lombard is a familiar name around Galesburg. They were in business from about 1899 until 1917. The Galesburg Piano Company was founded by F. Much of the story about this piano has been lost to history, but armed with a a few facts, knowledge of common practices of the day, and some persistent digging, here is what I could find. Then, here we have the story of a small, independent piano builder in Galesburg, Illinois. Other times mass produced pianos simply had another name added as a decal, or stencil. Some piano manufacturers built instruments to retailer requested specifications and then placed that retailersвЂ™ name on them. Music retail stores quickly realized that if they could stock a piano with their own brand or store name label, it would be seen as evidence of their excellence and good-standing in the community. In the years after the Civil War until the Great Depression, the American piano industry grew to manufacture about half of the pianos in the world.ДЄ piano in the home suggested that this was a refined, educated household. Before the Civil War, most of the pianos in America were imported.

Brambach piano history