- Henry L. Ziegler, age 18, begins his apprenticeship at Steinway & Sons.
- Joseph P. Hale, Steinway & Sons’ least scrupulous competitor, adds extra 160,000 square feet to his already existing 8-story building that occupies an entire city block in Manhattan on 10th ave between 34th and 35th street. He claims that he will soon have the capacity of manufacturing 7,500 cheap pianos per year – three times the number produced by Steinway & Sons. There are rumors that Joseph P. Hale also has $150,000 interest in Chickering & Sons, as well as interest in Albert Weber’s piano factory. If rumors are true, Joseph P. Hale’s enterprise presents significant threat to Steinway & Sons, because Joseph P. Hale can combine his fast, low quality manufacturing methods with the prestige of established names, and thus dominate the market.
- C.F. Theodor Steinweg proposes the way to address Joseph P. Hale’s threat: cutting artists and advertising expenses, and decreasing the amount added to piano prices to cover dealers overhead and profit. He writes in a letter to his brother William Steinway: “My boy, a piano is a piano, a little better or not does not make a difference with people.” C.F. Theodor Steinweg even attempts to blackmail his brothers William and Albert by threatening to break from Steinway & Sons, and to contract local makers to manufacture cheap pianos under his own name.