Uncovering the Past: Davenport & Treacy, Piano Plates

A piano related e-mail inquiry led the sleuths in the Marcus Research Library to the Davenport & Treacy Company of Stamford, a foundry that made piano plates.

Picturesque Stamford (1892) has Manufacturing Industries, page 244 ff.: The Davenport & Treacy Company. located on West Waterside.

“Success is such a handy word, and is so often used, that it hardly expresses the situation in this case. The amount of success that has fallen to their lot may be estimated by the fact that from 275 plates in 1884, they developed a patronage so large that in 1891, as their books indicate, they produced the enormous quantity of 23,400 piano plates and a correspondingly large output of piano hardware. The present location at West Waterside was chosen after careful deliberation, because it places them within easy access of piano manufactories by rail or boat. Their works reach the water's edge, and give them unexceptionable advantages in receiving their iron and coal, as well as material for general purposes. Their buildings have a street frontage of about 475 feet, and cover about three acres of ground. Anticipating further progress, they have ample space for the enlargement of their works.”

The Book “New England States” by William Thomas Davis, 1897, reports that in 1894, 300 plates were manufactured, while in 1896 the output was nearly 30,000.

John Davenport went into partnership with Mr. Treacy in 1873, while the company was still located in Jersey City.  The last entry for Davenport & Treacy appears in the 1909 Stamford City Directory.  Whether or not Mr. Treacy was still active in the company by then we do not know.   John Davenport died in 1910.  The company name was then changed to John Davenport Company, and most likely Mr. Treacy's shares were bought out at this time. The company appears last in the 1919 Stamford City Directory.   More about John Davenport.

History of the American Pianoforte: Its Technical Development, and the Trade by Daniel Spillane, 1892 is available at Google Books, and Pages 332 through 338 cover the company.

Map of the foundry, with the long side of the structure measuring 365 feet – as opposed to the 475 feet mentioned above.  The street was originally called Foundry Street, but by 1913 it had become Davenport Street.

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