January 28, 1878

 The beginning of the espionage episode in the attempt (arranged by Joseph P. Hale) to criminally implicate William Steinway. A stranger, calling himself J.B. Wass, visits William Steinway, posing as a New York Tribune reporter, and offers proof that Joseph P. Hale’s company made pianos for Albert Weber. J.B. Wass requests permissions to see letters received by Steinway & Sons, but addressed to “Stanley & Sons, Pianoforte Manufacturers, 4th Avenue, New York”. Mistrustful, William Steinway refuses to provide the letters. In the afternoon, the actual New York Tribune reporter, named Shanks, visits Steinway Hall by a lucky coincidence while J.B. Wass is there, and informs William Steinway that Wass is an impostor.