Theodore E. Steinway, concerned for his brother William’s safety, orders him to return to America. William R. Steinway complies: he and his wife Marie arrive to New York from Hamburg and move into a two-room apartment on Columbus Circle. They hope to be back in Germany by Christmas, and in the meantime William R. Steinway sets out on a 2-month tour of Steinway & Sons North American dealers, similar to the trip he took with Ernest Urchs in 1907.