Morris Steinert (1831-1912), one of New Haven's leading businessmen was a manufacturer of pianos and a retailer, selling musical instruments and sheet music. His enterprise became so successful that he opened branches in Providence and Boston. He was also an accomplished cellist and a lecturer on music and music history. He is also considered the founder of the New Haven Symphony, one of the oldest orchestras in the country.

Later in life, Steinert returned to Europe where he collected old and forgotten instruments, mostly forerunners of the piano such as claviers and harpsichords.

Steinert, seated in wagon (with the black hat), collecting instruments near Scheinfeld, Bavaria, Germany in the 1880s. (click on image for a larger view)

Here is a very interesting and nicely done website by Martin Nicoly about Steinert's place of birth, Scheinfeld, which includes the history of the town of Scheinfeld,
Excerpts from the book Reminiscenses of Morris Steinert,
and extensive notes about the formerJewish community of Scheinfeld.
(This site is mostly in German)

From http://www.wwwebit.com/pianos/backgd.html

The Pennsylvanians (Fred Waring’s Choral Group) used the piano until it wore out. Fred Waring put the concert grand in the rear of the building (room near the back foyer). Fred had told the groundskeeper that he was going to have it restored at some later date. The Music Hall burned down in 1985 and the piano was protected by a thick concrete wall with no smoke damage at all. I was told later that three Steinway pianos burned in the fire.

This piano was a good copy of Steinway! Steinway sued Steinert for copyright infringements. The judgment that came down was that Steinert was still allowed to produce a set number of pianos each year. A.H. Hume entered the employ of Alexander Steinert in 1888. After the court ruling in 1903, Steinert decided to start building pianos with the Hume name; same piano, same action, different design on cast iron plate.

Fred Waring died of a stroke 1984 without finishing his dream of restoring the Castle Inn Music Hall and the concert grand. Warland Crawford purchased the Steinertone Concert Grand on Feb 19, 1988. The release form was signed later by Virginia Waring on Sept. 15, 1988, as she had been in California during previous purchase. Her permanent residence is now in California.

The restoration of this beautiful, rare historical piece will begin this coming year (1998) by Antique Piano Restorations By Eugene , who comes highly recommended by past customers for such a restoration. The wholesale price of this restored instrument with complete documentation, photos, and record albums will be: $250,000 non-negotiable.

If one were to design a beautiful music room in their home with some idea of decor for a special piano, (that piano being an old turn-of-the-century black concert grand), you need only to imagine the following: a room 30 by 35 feet or larger for a small musical ensemble, with the floor done in black & white swirled marble or checkerboard white and black squares; and an antique carpet under the piano area, black and white with some reds for contrast; the walls complementing the carpet and piano; walls with charcoal bust portraits of the finest greats in music, also using Billy Joel, Elton John, or Beatles for contrast; using the same period for the interior’s contents- some wingback chairs, a few antique ensemble chairs, loveseats, a few sculptures, etc.

This is one idea of how a room should look. However, there are many differing ideas of designs for such a room; but if the piano is a documented piece, used by many of the greats in history, such as John Philip Sousa, all the jazz greats, concert pianists, also Fred Waring’s Pennsylvanians, just to mention a few, then having a proper room for such an instrument becomes more important to the decorator.

At any rate, I would love to see such a room for this great instrument, which finally became the property of the late Fred Waring with the purchase of the Castle Inn Music Hall.Virginia Waring, Fred’s wife, signed a release form from the estate to allow me proper documentation of this legendary piece.

The piano is a 1907, 9 foot 4 inch Steinertone high quality Concert Grand that was used at the Castle Inn Music Hall located at the Delaware Water Gap in PA.(Grand opening of the Hall-1911.)

The Castle Inn Music Hall was known as the playground for some of New York's greatest entertainers. Later on, Fred Waring purchased the hall with piano intact. Fred and the Pennsylvanians used the concert grand for all their rehearsals until it finally wore out. It was stored in the rear of the building until it could be repaired. Fred mentioned to the groundskeeper that he wanted to have it restored. I was happy to hear that I get to do what Fred really wanted to do. It’s quite an undertaking, as the keys were worn out. I sent the old keys to Kluge Co.in Germany to make new ones. They come highly recommended as they make keys for Bosendorfer & Bechstein, two leading piano companies in the world.

The piano will be exactly what it was, as I am very exacting in restoring such an instrument. This instrument will be selling from my shop at a wholesale price of $250,000.

The following is from "An Insider's Guide to the History of the Pocono Mountains"
From http://www.insiders.com/poconos/main-history.htm

The Castle Inn’s finest hour occurred August 20, 1912, when John Philip Sousa’s band performed for a crowd of 875. The main concert hall of the inn since has burned. A new open-air stage has been erected, which is the site of the town’s annual jazz festival. World-famous jazz performers, such as Phil Woods and Urbie Green, live in the village and enjoy playing with other local musicians and students at the early-September show.

President Theodore Roosevelt arrived in Delaware Water Gap August 2, 1910, and stayed at Water Gap House. Many tour guides published at that time regarded the Water Gap as one of the country’s 15 scenic marvels.