Will Beck Advertising Cover

This post features a wonderful Will Beck advertising cover from 1894. Its a wonderful piece that has both an interesting stamp (a Columbian) and survives with its contents. In fact, such a cover is not just a piece of postal history, but also a real piece of musical social history. Regular readers know that I occasionally feature a few items from my postal history and cover collection.

I am especially interested in items that give an insight into the American music industry. For example, you can read about an early American stampless cover here, learn about a transaction from the Hook Organ builders here, and see an advertising cover from the Boston piano firm Chickering & Sons here. This post features a piece from a dealer in Worthington, Pennsylvania, Will C. Beck. As a dealer, this cover and its contents is similar to this piece from a music store in Hagerstown, Maryland.

Will C. Beck

William C. Beck was born in Worthington, Pennsylvania on March 12, 1860 to Frederick Beck and Savilla Schreckengost. The 1880 census lists his profession as a piano teacher and his address is still with his parents. A marriage certificate from 1897 shows that he married may George. A further reference in the 1910 census says that Beck’s profession was a salesman in a piano store. Will Beck died on February 29, 1920 in Rural Valley, Pennsylvania.

There is no evidence that Will C. Beck had an actual piano store, in fact the address on the cover and all of the contents is simply a post office box. Perhaps Beck was somehow able to sell instruments without such a store, somehow arranging shipping from a manufacturer directly to a customer. This is not uncommon for teachers, who might be able to sell instruments to their students.

Obituary

A little more information about Beck is from an obituary in the Simpsons Daily Leader Times, of Kittanning Pa, March 1, 1920:

“From childhood he had no use of his lower limbs and only slight use of his arms. Otherwise he was a finely developed boy and man. His infirmities only seem to stimulate his mental faculties and he developed them by persistent and constant application. When the writer was editor of the Weekly Times he persuaded Mr. Beck to act as correspondence for it and his weekly interesting letters over the non de plume of ‘Gold Pen’ . . . Of late years, he had been engaged in the sale of pianos, organs and other musical instruments and was very successful being of a bright, happy and genial disposition . . .”

The Cover

Originally, the cover came to my attention because it has a two-cent stamp from the Columbian series of 1893. This stamp was one of a set sixteen that were made to promote the World’s Columbian Exhibition in Chicago that year. These stamps were the very first U.S. commemorative stamps. The two-cent stamp depicts Columbus’ landing in the western hemisphere. Regular readers of this blog will know that I like finding pieces that combine musical topics with items of philatelic interest. This piece was perfect for me and my collection!

In the left corner, is a grand piano bearing the name of Decker Brothers, an important late-nineteenth century New York piano manufacturer. Below is the address for Will C. Beck, a post office box in Worthington, PA. In the center top of the envelope, it further states that Will Beck is the sole agent for pianos, organs, and all types of musical instruments. This statement probably indicates he was the only music dealer in Worthington with exclusive contracts with one or more companies. Indeed, the statement further lists Wm Knabe, Decker Brothers, and Fischer pianos as among his available products. At the bottom of this box, it also lists the Estey Cottage Organ company. Finally, it is worth noting that the recipient of the letter was a Mrs. Mary Peters of Rural Valley, Pennsylvania (1843-1926).

Receipt

Wonderfully, the cover comes with its original contents. It documents the sale of a cottage, or reed (pump) organ made by the Estey Company to May Peters. The receipt bears the date of April 12, 1894 and states that for one hundred dollars she bought an organ, a stool, and a book. She paid the bill in full at the time. A second document in the envelope includes a thirty-year warranty from Will C. Beck , further stating that the organ is a style A 72.

Estey Organ Company

There were also several items from the Estey organ company in the envelope including a manufacturers certificate and warranty. In addition, there was a booklet regarding the unpacking and long term care of the organ.

The origins of the Estey organ company date back to 1846 when Samuel and Joseph Jones began building melodeons in Brattleboro, Vermont. Melodeons were very small keyboards with a couple of octaves of keys. After a series of partnerships, by 1863, the company was the sole property of Jacob Estey. He expanded the company and product line, building the much larger cottage organs that offered an expanded keyboard. These instruments were perfect for home parlors or even in small churches.

Jacob died in 1890 and control of the company passed to his son Julius J. The heyday of the company was in the early twentieth century when more than ten thousand instruments were sold each year. The company underwent many changes in the middle of the twentieth century, eventually being sold and disbanded in 1961. Learn more about this important American organ company here.

Final Thoughts

Although the cover with its wonderful Columbian stamp originally caught my attention, the contents of this envelope are an interesting piece of American social history. It is an artifact that shows how the domestic music industry did business in the late nineteenth century. A popular piano teacher, Will Beck, was able to represent a major manufacturer, Estey Organs, and sell a reed organ in rural Pennsylvania.

The buyer, potentially a student of Beck’s, surely proudly displayed her Estey organ as a valued piece of furniture in her home. Pianos and organs were important features in middle class homes all across the United States in the late nineteenth century. A large organ or piano was a major purchase for most American families of the time. Likely, it was on display in a sitting room or parlor of the home. Perhaps the buyer, or one of her children, would play it for entertaining guests. It was a symbol of the culture and education in the owner’s home. It is marvelous that all of the original documents came with this beautiful cover and tell such an interesting story.

Finally, to learn more about how a reed organ works, check out this nice video from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts featuring their very large Estey organ.