Charles Steinway writes to his brother C.F. Theodor: “Business here is very slow and almost half the workers are either unemployed or they work only three-quarters time. I am afraid that after Christmas it’s going to get worse. Our new shop has been finished for three months now. It is built very well, but of course it stands empty.” This letter illustrates the rapid and violent fluctuations of American economy (and piano market), typical for that time.