Music Trade Review
Issue: 1899 Vol. 28 N. 23 - Page 11
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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
.
. , THE HOUSE OF GABLER
. . .
A CONSPICUOUS INSTITUTION IN THE ANNALS OF PIANO MAKING THE GABLER TALENT FOR
MUSIC AND MECHANICS—PROGRESSIVE AND HONORABLE PRINCIPLES APPLIED
TO BUSINESS DEALINGS—TWO GENERATIONS OF GABLERS.
It was in 1856 when Emil Gabler, then a
youth, imbued with ambition and hope,
left his native Prussia to join his brother
Ernest who had preceded him to America
and had laid the foundations of the busi-
ness which was destined eventually to
become world-famous.
Since the establishment of the Gabler
house in a modest way in 1854 the business
began to be characterized by a growth of a
solid character owing to the fact that the
Gabler firm was composed of men who
were thoroughly conscientious in their
work and adhered strictly to progressive
and high-minded dealings with their
agents.
Ernest Gabler, the older brother, was a
skilled piano-maker, and under his guid-
ance his brother Emil graduated in every
department of the business and added
materially to the Gabler prestige by his
conscientious work and original ideas, so
that upon the death of his brother, which
occurred in 1883, he became managing
head of the Gabler institution.
Emil Gabler belongs to the old guard of
piano-makers who have done so much to
make the American piano the superior of
its European rival. Having inherent mu-
sical and mechanical ability, he felt, when
the entire management of the Gabler busi-
ness fell upon his shoulders upon the death
of his brother, that the name and fame of
the Gabler instruments should be material-
ly increased, and that the pianos bearing
his patronymic should be forever intimate-
ly associated with all that is highest and
best in America's mu-
sico - industrial affairs.
That he carried on the
business, the founda-
tions of which were so
admirably laid by his
brother, to higher and
greater possibilities, is
now h i s t o r y , and to
write of the life and ac-
complishments of Emil
Gabler is to chronicle
the deeds of a man who
typifies all that is best
in the great Germanic
race.
miliarized with every department of the
business. In other words he is a thor-
oughly practical piano man.
He has
been particularly fortunate to develop his
knowledge of the mechanical part of the
business under the watchful eye of his
uncle who has taken almost a fatherly in-
terest in the young man, upon whose
shoulder must ultimately fall the entire
management of the Gabler business.
Emil Gabler is a man
of striking personal ap-
pearance.
He has a
ruddy c o m p l e x i o n
which betokens perfect
health; hair, mustache
a n d goatee of silvery
whiteness and of silky
texture; his kindly blue
eyes sparkle with a life
and keenness that show
that although the snow-
fall of time has whit-
EMIL GABLER.
EMIL ERNEST GABLER.
ened his locks it has
dealt Vindly willi him,
as he bears his years as
lightly as his honors.
His associate in busi-
ness is his n e p h e w ,
Emil Ernest Gal Icr,
son of the o r i g i n a l
founder of the business.
Emil Ernest Gabler is
a rare blending of the
artistic and the business
element. That he pos-
sesses an artistic tem-
perament may be seen
from his features. He
loves music, is a mu-
sician of character and
talent, and at the same
time he has developed
in one so young, phe-
nomenal business in-
stincts.
After completing his
education he entered
the factory in 1896,
upon reaching his twen-
ty-first b i r t h d a y , and
became thorous>hlv fa-
It would seem that the younger Gabler
exemplifies to a remarkable degree the
laws of heredity in that he possesses an
inherent love for music as well as mechan-
ics,—factors which have been strong traits
in the Gablers for generations.
The business history of the Gabler es-
tablishment compasses the life of an in-
stitution which has been built from its very
inception upon meritorious worth rather
than bombastic statements, for it must be
admitted by all that the Gablers have
always carefully eschewed everything that
savored of the bombastic or over-boastful.
They have preferred rather that their
actions should be their mouth-piece, and
the result is to-day that from ocean to
ocean the absolute standing, musically and
architecturally, of the Gabler instruments
is of the highest. Practical piano men
know that in every Gabler piano is em-
bodied a musical as well as architectural
value. They know, too, that the Gabler
institution has not been content to rest
upon past laurels. It has been progressive
in all that the word implies, and the vital-
izing influence of this house in the devel-
opment of the pianoforte is acknowledged
by unprejudiced critics. The later Gabler
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
.
. , THE HOUSE OF GABLER
. . .
A CONSPICUOUS INSTITUTION IN THE ANNALS OF PIANO MAKING THE GABLER TALENT FOR
MUSIC AND MECHANICS—PROGRESSIVE AND HONORABLE PRINCIPLES APPLIED
TO BUSINESS DEALINGS—TWO GENERATIONS OF GABLERS.
It was in 1856 when Emil Gabler, then a
youth, imbued with ambition and hope,
left his native Prussia to join his brother
Ernest who had preceded him to America
and had laid the foundations of the busi-
ness which was destined eventually to
become world-famous.
Since the establishment of the Gabler
house in a modest way in 1854 the business
began to be characterized by a growth of a
solid character owing to the fact that the
Gabler firm was composed of men who
were thoroughly conscientious in their
work and adhered strictly to progressive
and high-minded dealings with their
agents.
Ernest Gabler, the older brother, was a
skilled piano-maker, and under his guid-
ance his brother Emil graduated in every
department of the business and added
materially to the Gabler prestige by his
conscientious work and original ideas, so
that upon the death of his brother, which
occurred in 1883, he became managing
head of the Gabler institution.
Emil Gabler belongs to the old guard of
piano-makers who have done so much to
make the American piano the superior of
its European rival. Having inherent mu-
sical and mechanical ability, he felt, when
the entire management of the Gabler busi-
ness fell upon his shoulders upon the death
of his brother, that the name and fame of
the Gabler instruments should be material-
ly increased, and that the pianos bearing
his patronymic should be forever intimate-
ly associated with all that is highest and
best in America's mu-
sico - industrial affairs.
That he carried on the
business, the founda-
tions of which were so
admirably laid by his
brother, to higher and
greater possibilities, is
now h i s t o r y , and to
write of the life and ac-
complishments of Emil
Gabler is to chronicle
the deeds of a man who
typifies all that is best
in the great Germanic
race.
miliarized with every department of the
business. In other words he is a thor-
oughly practical piano man.
He has
been particularly fortunate to develop his
knowledge of the mechanical part of the
business under the watchful eye of his
uncle who has taken almost a fatherly in-
terest in the young man, upon whose
shoulder must ultimately fall the entire
management of the Gabler business.
Emil Gabler is a man
of striking personal ap-
pearance.
He has a
ruddy c o m p l e x i o n
which betokens perfect
health; hair, mustache
a n d goatee of silvery
whiteness and of silky
texture; his kindly blue
eyes sparkle with a life
and keenness that show
that although the snow-
fall of time has whit-
EMIL GABLER.
EMIL ERNEST GABLER.
ened his locks it has
dealt Vindly willi him,
as he bears his years as
lightly as his honors.
His associate in busi-
ness is his n e p h e w ,
Emil Ernest Gal Icr,
son of the o r i g i n a l
founder of the business.
Emil Ernest Gabler is
a rare blending of the
artistic and the business
element. That he pos-
sesses an artistic tem-
perament may be seen
from his features. He
loves music, is a mu-
sician of character and
talent, and at the same
time he has developed
in one so young, phe-
nomenal business in-
stincts.
After completing his
education he entered
the factory in 1896,
upon reaching his twen-
ty-first b i r t h d a y , and
became thorous>hlv fa-
It would seem that the younger Gabler
exemplifies to a remarkable degree the
laws of heredity in that he possesses an
inherent love for music as well as mechan-
ics,—factors which have been strong traits
in the Gablers for generations.
The business history of the Gabler es-
tablishment compasses the life of an in-
stitution which has been built from its very
inception upon meritorious worth rather
than bombastic statements, for it must be
admitted by all that the Gablers have
always carefully eschewed everything that
savored of the bombastic or over-boastful.
They have preferred rather that their
actions should be their mouth-piece, and
the result is to-day that from ocean to
ocean the absolute standing, musically and
architecturally, of the Gabler instruments
is of the highest. Practical piano men
know that in every Gabler piano is em-
bodied a musical as well as architectural
value. They know, too, that the Gabler
institution has not been content to rest
upon past laurels. It has been progressive
in all that the word implies, and the vital-
izing influence of this house in the devel-
opment of the pianoforte is acknowledged
by unprejudiced critics. The later Gabler
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