1880

  • Henry L. Ziegler, son of Doretta Steinway, age 23, officially begins to work for Steinway & Sons (unofficially, for the previous several years, as a teenager, he has spent a lot of time participating in his uncles William and C.F. Theodor’s business activities). Henry Ziegler and Frederick Steinway become best friends – and will spend the rest of their lives together.
  • The end-of-year Steinway & Sons books show that William Steinway has spent over $695,000 on Astoria real estate and improvements (the amount greater than the combined value of Fourth Avenue factory and Steinway Hall, and five times greater than the combined value of all pianos available for sale by Steinway & Sons).
  • New York World for the first time mentions William Steinway as one of the four hundred New York millionaires.