S. R. Leland & Son History

This is a compilation of information that I have put together on the S. R. Leland & Son company of Worcester, Massachusetts. My main sources of information have been two local newspapers, the Worcester Daily Spy and the National Aegis, a copy of Leland's 1885 Band Journal, and the New Langwill's Index. This was compiled by Jon Patton and last updated on January 24, 2018. New information is always wanted so please email me at jrpatton68@earthlink.net. Leland Biographies: Samuel Reeves Leland was the founder of the company and was born in Sherborn, Massachusetts on May 12, 1817 to Deacon Daniel Leland whose ancestors came from Yorkshire, England. He moved to Worcester in 1839 and married Mary Draper (b. Feb 28, 1821) on May 26, 1844. Their first child, Frank, was born in 1846 and a second child, Julietta, was born in 1848 but died in 1851. Samuel was an organist for the Second Congregational Church for 27 years starting in 1839 then later played for the Central and Unity churches. It was said that he never missed organ duty in 50 years of service. He also taught music in the Worcester area for 25 years including 21 years at the College of the Holy Cross. He died on January 14, 1885 at age 67 following about five years of bad health. His residence at the time was 118 Lincoln Street. His wife Mary died on September 29, 1910.

Francis (Frank) Augustus Leland was the only surviving child of Samuel and was born on April 22, 1846 in Worcester. He was educated at the Highland Military Academy then became a junior partner in the family business. He was also an accomplished flute player. He married Harriet (Hattie) Lapham on November 3, 1873 and they had one daughter, Hattie May Leland, born on February 27, 1879. His home was listed in 1904 at 653 Main Street which was next to the First Baptist Church at the corner of Ionic Avenue. [both buildings are now gone] His wife died on August 29, 1911 then he passed away on May 15, 1915.

Company History: 1839: Samuel came to Worcester and started a Music & Umbrella store. 1840: Samuel has a singing school and he sold pianos over Mr. Harris' book store. 1841: Leland is listed as a local agent for the Musical Reporter. September 1, 1841: Samuel and George Putnam opened a store at #6 Brinley Row (#170 Main Street, now a parking lot) selling music publications and music merchandise. Their ad from September 15th gives a list of items including violins, cellos, double basses, clarinets, bassoons, instruction books, sheet music, pianos, umbrellas and parasols. The last two items were said to be of their own manufacture. They were the first agents in New England for the Chickering pianos.

April, 1842: The partnership with Putnam must have been short lived as Putnam's ad for that day does not include Leland. Leland has a separate ad giving his location at #8 Brinley Row and selling parasols and sun shades. More ads that year show that he is selling melodeons, stringed and brass instruments, Chickering pianos and parasols. February 1, 1843: Leland sold the store at #170 Main Street to Caleb Loring who planned to keep the same merchandise. Leland was going to be at the store but devoting his time to piano and organ instruction. 1843: Leland was the music director for the College of the Holy Cross from its founding this year until 1864. July 3, 1844: An ad for a piano for sale gives Leland's address as #8 School Street but from the way the ad reads, it could also be where the piano was located. February 4, 1846: Leland advertises for piano instruction. September 9, 1850: Leland advertises a singing school over Mr. Harris' book store; the same location he was at in 1840. The city directory lists him as a music teacher at Warren Block and his home at 42 Front St. September 22, 1852: Leland has a store at #42 Front Street and advertises for instruction on the piano, organ, flute, violin and in singing. He was also dealing in pianos.

c. 1862: Langwill states that son Frank entered the partnership at this time. August 13, 1864: A new store was under construction for Leland at #205-1/2 Main Street which was a two story structure built in an existing passage. [now gone] 1866: The Worcester Directory lists Samuel Leland as an instrument dealer and teacher at 205-1/2 Main St. April 23, 1870: An article refers to S.R. Leland & Son's Music Store which is the earliest reference I found to Frank being added to the name. This only shows up in articles but never on the advertising until 1881. January, 1871: An article refers to them as S.R. Leland & Son. February 18, 1871: An ad lists them as S. R. Leland & Co. May 11, 1872: Leland had broken ground on a lot on Lincoln Street probably for his residence. 1873: An article and photos of a Bb cornet made by McFadden & Beaumont in Worcester shows that Leland was the sole seller of this brand and that Leland was located at 343 Main Street. This company only lasted this one year so they are easy to date. September 26, 1874: An ad for Leland & Co. Music Store shows him at 343 Main Street which is the only one that I found for this location. November 27, 1875: Leland had recently moved to a new location at 446 Main Street opposite City Hall. They are now called "S.R. Leland & Co." and may have used that name prior to the move but probably some time after the 1864 move. The building (now gone) was 23' x 83' and four stories tall. At that time the basement was used for packing and shipping, the first floor sales room for sheet music, books, small musical items and pianos, the second floor for organs, the

third floor for pianos to rent in the front and band instruments in the back, and the fourth floor for setting up and storing organs. Frank Leland was then a junior partner in charge of the organs. Of note regarding instruments was a recent agreement made with A. Lecomte & Co. of Paris to import their best instruments.

February 4, 1876: Leland owned the back section of a building of the Burnside Estate on Main Street that suffered a $100 loss due to a fire. No mention was made of what he used it for. April 13, 1878: An ad shows that Leland repaired brass instruments. 1879: C.H. Bowker, a junior partner in the company, was made head of the new band instrument department. November 2, 1881: C. H. Bowker was head of the instrument department and was currently repairing an old Revolutionary War drum.

December, 1881: Three ads show a change from Leland & Co. to Leland & Son in their advertising. February, 1882: An ad shows that they now carry sewing machines June 2, 1882: Leland hired Mr. Babbitt as a piano tuner who joined Mr. Oakman who already was doing this. c. 1883: Langwill states that they started making brass instruments at about this time with Carl Anger as superintendent. [Anger may have worked with Fiske.] April 21, 1883: C. H. Bowker was retiring as head of the instrument department after ten years there. They were selling Missenharter instruments at that time. September 27, 1884: An ad shows they had brass instruments for sale or rent. January 14, 1885: Samuel dies leaving the store to Frank. May & July, 1885: Ads show that they sold Missenharter and Leland brand instruments. They are also in their Band Catalog of 1885 where the Leland brand is called "Light Piston". They had also recently secured the services of William Peter to make and repair violins and enlarged their

facilities for band instrument repair. August 17, 1886: This is the earliest ad I found for Eclipse model cornets. August 27, 1886: An ad shows Peter's violins for sale. October 18, 1886: An ad has both Missenharter and Eclipse band instruments. March 19, 1887: An article states that "M. E. Macauley will give popular solos on the Eclipse cornet, a new style instrument manufactured by the Lelands." May, 1887: “The celebrated Eclipse band instruments made solely by S. R. Leland & Co. met with high approval by all bandsmen and artists.” “…since two or three years our business has more than doubled itself.” (Music Trade Review) June, 1887: Frank Leland is to make a trip to Europe to make arrangements for enlarging his band instrument manufacturing. (Music Trade Review) July 22, 1888: An ad lists Eclipse cornets and trombones.

September 25, 1888: C.M. Farnum was the manager of the band instrument department. (The last ad I found with his name was in 1894.) October 10, 1888: Leland receives a letter from cornet player Bowen Church praising the high quality of the Eclipse cornet he plays. Ads for the "Church" model cornet appear in 1894. The following is the quote from the letter. "Friend Leland: I use the Eclipse you have made for me exclusively, and of all the beautiful instruments I have ever played I think yours exceeds them all. It has the brilliant tone of Courtois and the body of Besson, and better in tune than any I have yet tested. I have played over a hundred different solos on it, and I must say I am very well pleased with it. The action is very beautiful and it blows very easy. Have thoroughly tested it in military band and orchestra and shall use nothing else. I thought at first you might make the instrument a little less in price for me but I suppose if you did for one you would have to for all. I am glad I shall not have to buy any more imported instruments, as I believe we have better ones at home now. Accept my congratulations on your success. Yours, Bowen R. Church" January 13, 1889: Ad shows that they manufacture Eclipse band instruments and Eclipse violins. December 14, 1892: An article tells that they manufacture Eclipse band instruments and violins. April 2, 1893: An article announces the start of a monthly musical periodical called The Eclipse published by Leland. June 29, 1893: First ad for "Ideal" band instruments which were imported.

1894: Ad shows "Church Model Eclipse" cornet and Eclipse violin. January 8, 1894: The Eclipse instruments include cornet, alto, baritone, bass, helicon, clarinet, snare and bass drum. The Eclipse brass are made from the best French or German brass added to imported valves made to Leland's design. They also mention the "Ideal" line of less expensive instruments. August, 1894: Ad says they are manufacturers of Eclipse and New Ideal brass instruments. This is the only ad found with "New Ideal" and is also the last one found for this line. One baritone that I had with this logo was also stamped "US" on the middle valve. The law changed in 1891 so that all imported items had the country of origin stamped on them yet no "New Ideal" instruments have any marking. Perhaps they

imported parts and assembled them here. October 14, 1894: A detailed ad shows what is done on each floor of their store. Basement: manufacturing the "Eclipse" brand instruments, retailing of band and orchestra instruments and supplies, and instrument repair 1st Floor: sheet music, stringed instruments and music boxes 2nd Floor: all their pianos 3rd Floor: used pianos and new organs by Estey, Story & Clark and Newman 4th Floor: manufacturing "Eclipse" violins and instrument repair December 11, 1894: Frank Leland is granted patent #530,781 for adding a pitch change valve to a slide trombone.

1895: Ad selling new trombones with pitch change valve as well as "Church Model Eclipse" cornets. If you can trust an artist drawing, the new model matches cornets that I have with serial numbers 536 to 740. Bowen Church was a cornet soloist for the Reeves American Band of Providence, RI from 1878 until 1902. He was the assistant conductor under Reeves and Herbert Clarke and was the general director in 1892 and 1900 in the absence of David Reeves. 1897: Ad shows a new Eclipse model with the inlet pipe looping through the third valve slide then going up at an angle through the valves. This same cornet is shown in an ad from 1898. I cannot match the design with any known cornets.

1900: They were selling the "Angelus" which adapted a piano into a player piano. 1900: Leland had plans to renovate their store front with large glass windows on the first two floors. (Music Trade Review) August 17, 1901: The word "trade-mark" shows up in an ad for the first

time so it's possible that this is when they started marking the Eclipse cornets with this word (about cornet #900 and later). December 24, 1901: "The celebrated Eclipse band instruments are manufactured by Leland's." 1902: An undated ad shows the "Clement" model Eclipse cornet which refers to Fred Clement, cornet soloist for the Reeves American Band of Providence, RI from 1902 to 1904 under Herbert Clarke. December 13, 1903: "We manufacture the celebrated Eclipse cornet and trombone and are in a position to repair all brands of band instruments at short notice." 1908: The “Richard’s Map” from 1911 shows the #446 Main St. location as being occupied by “National Bank”. This was the Worcester County National Bank (or Merchants’ National Bank) and the earliest mention I find of it at this location is from 1908 when Frank Drury was elected president. It’s probable that Leland had moved to their last location one block south to the Knowles building at the corner of Chatham Street. Eclipse instruments may have ended production when this happened. 1911: The “Richard’s Map” shows the Knowles building at #516-522 Main Street 1913: a list of musical instrument makers in Worcester does not include Leland May 1915: Frank Leland died from heart problems that started five weeks ago with a hiccough attack. The store at present is located in the Knowles building and was under Frank’s management until his death. (Music Trade Review) July 1915: “The old-time business of S. R. Leland & Son, in the Knowles building, Worcester, Mass., has been purchased by the Steere Music Co. of that city. The stock taken over consists of pianos, player pianos, band instruments, and musical merchandise.” (Music Trade Review, 7-24) Summary Regarding Brass Instruments at Leland: 1842: First mention of selling brass instruments; probably imported. 1875: Started selling brass made by A. Lecomte of Paris, among other brands. 1883: Started selling Missenharter brass as well as their own Leland brand.

1886: Last mention of Missenharter brass and the first mention of the Eclipse cornets. It was said that Frank invented and patented the Eclipse cornet but I have not found proof of this yet. 1888: Selling Eclipse model cornets and trombones. 1889: Selling Eclipse band instruments possibly adding tubas at this time. 1893: First ad for "Ideal" model instruments appears on June 29 and states that they are imported. 1894: Ads for "Ideal" and by August "New Ideal" instruments appear. 1901: Possibly when the word "trademark" starts appearing on their instruments. 1908: Eclipse brass may have ended about this time Dating Leland Instruments: Eclipse Bb Cornets: 1886 = #1; 1888 = #160; c. 1895 = #543; 1897 = #625; after 1905 = #760; c. 1908 = #955 This makes 1,000 made in 22 years so about 45 per year average; see chart below. "Trademark" appears on the bell inscription at around #900 "Clement" model in undated ad matches the tubing design for #694 and all #900 and up. Fred Clement was a soloist in Reeves' American Band of Providence, RI under Herbert Clarke from 1902 to 1904 so this fits with the dating above. I would put #694 at c. 1903 since this one matches perfectly with the drawing in the ad. Leland may have gone back to this design for the later #900 and up as the finger buttons on these have a more modern design. "Church" model shown in 1894 and 1895 ads match #524 to #543 with fancy lead pipe socket. Bowen Church was another soloist in the Reeves' band from 1878 until 1902 then again from 1912 until ? He lived 1860 - 1923. This would fit with the 1895 date for the ad. He was using the Eclipse in 1888. Eclipse Eb Cornets: #860 is the only one I have found and has a logo matching Bb cornets at around #540 so my guess is that they used a different numbering system for these. This Eb was said to have been used in the Spanish-American War in 1898. Eclipse Trombones: #198 is the only one I have found and the logo matches Bb Cornet #160 so my guess it that it dates to 1888 when they start advertising both. They also advertise Eclipse trombones in 1889, 1893 and 1903. If you find a trombone with a pitch change valve they will probably date from after the patent in December, 1894. Eclipse Eb Tubas: I have only found three and they were all Eb. #872 has a less ornate engraving that doesn't match any others; #7427 has the same construction but the logo matches Bb cornet #543 so probably dates to the mid-1890s; #7435 is the highest number so far. The first ad found including basses for the Eclipse line is from January, 1894. "New Ideal" Instruments: I have come across seven instruments marked with this model name. They all have a wreath logo around the name and possibly were only sold in 1894. Only the first one below has different lettering in the logo. 1. Valve Trombone - probably the earliest since all the lettering is script 2. Slide Trombone - "New Ideal" is block letters with the rest in script 3. Bb Tenor - #3132, narrow tubing, probably imported

4. Bb Baritone - no number, large tubing, "U.S." stamped on valve 5. Eb Tuba - #2810 6. Bb Cornet #3056, silver plated, looks imported 7. EEb Helicon Tuba, "New Ideal" model with script logo matching the valve trombone. This was used in the Jack Daniels Silver Cornet Band at the turn of the century. It matches the design shown in the 1885 catalog. The ads say "Ideal" in June, 1893 and January, 1894 then change to "New Ideal" in August of 1894. There is no mention of them after this. I have never seen one marked with just "Ideal" and only one cornet, #3056, with the wreath and only the Leland name. Other Instruments owned or had information sent to me about: 1. Eb Alto Valve Trombone #1800; c.1882-1885, script logo, matches one shown in their 1885 catalog. 2. Eb Tuba #2184; c.1882-1885; script logo

The above chart took the dating information that I have been able to find and put it together on a

graph. Thankfully, the resulting line makes sense with steady production to the end in about 1908. By

that time, they would have been encountering more competition with large companies like Conn and

having more difficulty making a profit. The chart is for Bb Eclipse model cornets only. Other

instruments are dated based on a comparison of bell logos.

Leland Bell Inscriptions

One way to date Leland instruments is to compare bell inscriptions to those found on the Bb cornets. The designs changed over time and minor differences might mean different engravers. The earliest is likely the simple cursive lettering and probably dates to the 1882 to 1885 years when they sold their own brand of "light piston" instruments (Figure 1).

I also saw one Missenharter cornet with this same inscription added at the bottom of the bell.

Eb Tuba #2184

Figure 1 - Eb Alto Trombone #1800 The next design is the "Eclipse" models starting in 1886. The earliest one that I have found is Bb cornet #160 (Figure 2). This same design appears on trombone #198 (Figure 3). These had to have been done by the same engraver.

Figure 2 Figure 3

If you even compare the letter "M" in Mass on these two Eclipse instruments to the one on tuba #2184 you can see that they are the same. The trombone in Figure 3 probably dates to 1889. The "New Ideal" line is only advertised in 1894 yet I have found quite a few of them. Figure 4 is Eb Tuba #2810 and Figure 5 is Eb Tuba #3007.

Figure 4 Figure 5

Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 There seems to be no set design for the lettering as they all seem to be unique. Figure 6 is Bb Alto #3132, Figure 7 is an unnumbered Bb Baritone, and Figure 8 is an unnumbered Trombone. What they do have in common is the wreath logo and the same wording. I found no advertising for these outside of 1894 but they could have kept making or importing these later. I saw only one cornet, #3056, with the wreath logo but missing the "New Ideal". The next Eclipse logo style found is on Bb Cornet #308 (Figure 9). This has a round central logo with a diagonal banner and dates to c. 1892. The "Leland" changes to block lettering on Bb Cornets #459 to 608 (Figure 10) and Eb Tubas #7427 (Figure 11) and #7435. These date from 1894 to 1897. Another proof of this dating is from an 1895 ad showing the "Church" model Eclipse cornet that matches the style of Bb Cornets #524 to #543.

Figure 9 c. 1892 Figure 10 c. 1896 Figure 11 c. 1896 The next logo change takes Leland to the end of their production of Eclipse cornets. This is an oval shaped center with the earliest found on Bb Cornet #625 (Figure 12). This is the only one I have seen with the "Eclipse" name going straight across the center. This is also the only cornet I have found with tubing (Figure 13) to closely match the "New 1897 Model" shown in an ad (Figure 14). By Bb Cornet #694 the banner is curved (Figure 13).

Figure 12 c. 1897 Figure 13 c.1897 Figure 14 Bb Cornet #694 (c. 1903 Clement model) is the earliest one I have seen with the banner changing from straight to curved as shown on #740 (Figure 15). On the Rex Model #760 (Figure 16) the Leland name moves below the Eclipse name. This changes a little by #846 (Figure 17).

Figure 15 Figure 16 Figure 17

Another match for the dating is that the Rex model #760 has an "S" shaped lead pipe (Figure 18) that is very similar to the Conn Perfected Wonder cornet that came out in 1905. Frank Leland was probably just trying to keep up with the current design fad when he made this one. Figure 18 The next change came with the addition of "Trademark" to the logo. This appears on Bb Cornet #928 (Figure 19) and following up to #955 (Figure 20) which is the highest number that I have found and

dates to about 1908 when I think the store closed. I have not yet found documented evidence of Leland receiving a trademark which would really nail down a date for these but the earliest use of the word in advertising is 1901.

Figure 19 c. 1913 Figure 20 c. 1914

The only unique variation of the Eclipse logo that I have found is on Eb Tuba #872 (Figure 21) and on Trombone #? The construction of the tuba is the same as those in the 7000 range yet my guess is that this logo was done in the early 1900s as the "Leland & Son" looks more like the later cornets. The fact that the trombone logo includes "Trademark" would imply a late date.

Figure 21 c. 1910? Eclipse Trombone

Eclipse Bb Cornet #552

I saved this cornet for last since it is far above any others made by Leland and seems to combine characteristics from all the thirty years of production. I will start with the lower serial #552 which would date this to c.1896. This is confirmed by the fact that it shares some design elements with Eb cornet #860 from the same time period and is the only one that I can swap bottom caps with. The fancy lead pipe socket matches one on Bb cornet #740 and the finger buttons match those on Bb cornet #846. This would account for the second serial #840 which may indicate that this was returned to the factory in c.1906 to have an upgrade done.

By far the most amazing thing on this cornet is the engraving. This leaf design goes back to the first instruments from 1886 then the engraver covered all the pipes to an extent not seen on any other horn. This could have been made for a well-known soloist or perhaps even Frank Leland himself. The valves are well worn so my guess is a soloist.

Eclipse Cornet Mouthpieces

One last item of interest is the various mouthpieces with the "Eclipse" name. Figure 22 shows all of the ones that I have been able to find either with a cornet or separately.

Figure 22 Bb cornets #846, 901 and 931 all came with mouthpieces labeled "The Eclipse" with size 3 or 4 (3 being a slightly smaller cup). If these are the originals that came with the cornets then they date to the 1900 to 1908 period. The other four on the left are just labeled "Eclipse" with no added size and they all have a wider, more comfortable rim. It’s likely they were later ones made by Lyon & Healy as shown in this 1925 ad below which describes them as having an “extra broad rim”.

S. R. Leland & Son Cornets

Eclipse Bb Cornet #160 Eclipse Bb Cornet #536 Eclipse Bb Cornet #543

Eclipse Bb Cornet #740 Eclipse Rex Bb Cornet #760 Eclipse Simplex Bb Cornet #807

Eclipse Bb Cornet #846 Eclipse Eb Cornet #860 Eclipse Bb Cornet #901

Eclipse Bb Cornet #931 Eclipse Bb Cornet #955 From my collection as of July 2014

Other Leland instruments of note:

Bb Cornet #3056 Ideal model c. 1893 Bb Tenor #3132 New Ideal c. 1894

Bb Baritone, New Ideal, gold plated Eb Alto Trombone #1800 c.1885

Eclipse Eb Tuba #7435 c. 1895 Eclipse Trombone #198 c. 1889

Snare Drum w/Leland label Violin w/Leland label, German c. 1898

Leland Store Locations

1839-1841 over Clarendon Harris's bookstore (location not found) 1841 #6 Brinley Row at #170 Main Street 1842-1843 #8 Brinley Row 1843 sold to Mr. Loring and became the music director at the College of the Holy Cross 1843-1852 back over Mr. Harris's bookstore (1850 is confirmed; the other dates are a guess) 1852-1864 #42 Front Street 1864-c.1873 #205-1/2 Main Street c. 1873-1875 #343 Main Street 1875-c.1908 #446 Main Street c.1908-1915 #516 Main Street, Knowles building (below left photo before 1921 fire) 1915 sold to Steere Music Co.