ng ways
crept into Philadelphia and she lost the prestige she once enjoyed of
being the center of musical culture as well as of art and literature.
Boston took the place and has held it ever since. Many of the
distinctive features of the American piano actually originated there,
such as the applying of metal in construction, which idea was first
shown to be practical by Alpheus Babcock and Jonas Chickering. Then
Timothy Gilbert, another Boston man, conceived the upright action which
is in such general use today. There is no doubt but that Chickering was
the first man who dared deviate from a prescribed method in case
building.

Old newspapers contain much of interest concerning these first days in
the musical history of our country. In the Boston _Gazette_, published
in 1770, we are told that an excellent spinet had just been completed
which for goodness of workmanship and harmony of sound was esteemed by
the best judges to be superior to those imported. So much for American
skill and enterprise.

It might be well to mention that Massachusetts is credited with making
the first violins in this country. In 1789, also, there were two
teachers of harp and piano in Boston, one of whom could act as tuner and
repairer if occasion demanded. We find that Boston early supported a
musical magazine. In 1797 Peter Van Hazen left New York for the "Hub"
and there issued the first copy of his publication devoted to topics on
music. He also imported sheet music direct from London. It was about
1800 when Benjamin Crehore, of Milton, Mass., built the first piano
ever made in this country, and he did it in Boston. He was a skilled
workman who knew how to make violins, 'cellos, guitars, drums, and
flutes. Ten or twelve pianos were all he could make in one year and, to
the shame of America be it recorded, he had to put the stamp of _London_
or _Paris_ upon them before he could make a sale, showing that our
forefathers considered the foreign made article superior to those of
home manufacture. All these things are changed, however; the American
instrument now commands the highest price and is shipped to every part
of the world.

[Illustration: A Stodart Piano (Old English)]

The New York newspapers of olden time contain many notices that are
curious enough to us who read them over in this day and generation.
For instance, we find that "Peter Goelet has just gotten in a supply of
goods on the ship 'Earl of Dunmore,' and advertises that he