Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Wood and Brooks Company Records

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.0457
Creators:
Wood & Brooks Company
Dates:
1889-1959
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
3 Cubic feet
10 boxes
Repository:
Collection documents the activities of Wood & Brooks, a manufacturer of piano keys and actions.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The collection conists primarily of correspondence Charles H. Wood, M.S. Brooks and Hilton C. Brooks, financal and sales records, and some photographs documenting the company's work as manufacturer's of ivory piano keys and piano actions.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged into six series.
Series 1: Executive Records, 1889-1949 Series 2: Correspondence, 1890-1932 Series 3: Financial Records, 1891-1932
Series 4: Photographs, 1902-1959 Series 5: Piano Action and Specification Materials, 1927-1959
Series 6: Miscellaneous, 1958

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Charles Hammond Wood founded Wood and Brooks Company in 1901, in North Tonawanda, New York with financial help from Connecticut entrepreneur, M.S. Brooks. The company manufactured piano keys and piano actions. In 1905, Wood and Brooks acquired Seavern Piano Action Company of Cambridge, Massachusettts and in 1910 purchased Kurtz Action Company of Rockford, Illinois.
Source
Dolge, Alfred.
Pianos and Their Makers. Development of the piano, Volume II
, 1913.

Administration

Author
Alison Oswald
Immediate Source of Acquisiton
Collection donated by Wood & Brooks Company, through Elizabeth W. Crane, President, 1992.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Alison Oswald, archivist, 2021.
Accruals
Additional materials documenting Wood and Brooks Company was donated by Albert C. Gielow (1992); Larry Brady (1994); and Courtney Brooks (2017).

Using the Collection

Restrictions on Access
Collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation
Wood and Brooks Company Records, 1925-1966, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Related Materials
Materials in the Archives Center
Pratt, Read and Corporation Records (NMAH.AC.0320)
Warshaw Colletion of Business American, Series: Ivory (NMAH.AC.0060)
Warshaw Colletion of Business American, Series: Pianos (NMAH.AC.0060)
Ernest D. Moore Papers (NMAH.AC.0321)
Otto Gerdau Collection (NMAH.AC.0363)
Sohmer & Co. Records (NMAH.AC.0349)
Steinway & Sons Records and Family Papers (NMAH.AC.0178)
Chickering & Sons Piano Company Collection (NMAH.AC.0264)

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Business records Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Collective labor agreements Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Correspondence -- 19th-20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Factory workers Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Factories Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ivory Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ivory industry Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Keyboard instruments Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Piano Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
pianos Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Specifications Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Specifications Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
stock certificates Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pratt, Read and Company Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
International Association of Machinists Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
United Furniture Workers of America Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Brady, Larry Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gielow, Albert C. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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