The life trajectory of Theodore Presser (1848-1925) is a fascinating tale of continuous self-reinvention during the second half of the 19th century.
(The full biography can be found in the link to the Theodore Presser Company -below.)
Theodore was born to German immigrant parents in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
In his youth, he worked in a foundry, but his delicate constitution required that he seek other employment.
Presser then sold tickets for an Opera Company and clerked in a music store where he became sheet music manager.
At 19, he began studying the piano and became surprisingly adept – given his lack of early training.
Presser studied the piano for short periods at music schools in the US and and taught piano at several schools and colleges.
He is credited with founding the music program at Ohio Wesleyan University.
While at Ohio Wesleyan, Presser founded the Music Teachers National Association.
Determined to become a more accomplished pianist, Theodore studied at the Leipzig Conservatory in Germany from 1878-1880.
Presser returned to the US to become Director of Music at Hollins College – a college for women in Roanoke, Virginia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollins_University
While there, Theodore began publishing “The Etude”, a music magazine.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Etude
The success of the magazine brought Presser back to Pennsylvania to pursue publishing arrangements in Philadelphia.
Now, all of Presser’s various experiences coalesced – his understanding of sheet music publication, his leadership of the Music Teachers Association, and his scholarly magazine led him to found a music publishing firm, Theodore Presser Company.
Through acquisition of a music store in Boston, Theodore Presser became the longest continuously-operating music publisher in the US.
The Theodore Presser Company opened in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, but later moved to other Philadelphia suburbs of Malvern and King of Prussia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Presser_Company
Presser began selling “Reward Cards” to music teachers around the turn of the 20th century.
The Bryn Mawr address on this card suggests that it was printed early in the 20th century.
Presser devoted much of his fortune to good works in the field of music education and in the establishment of a home for impoverished music teachers.
https://presserfoundation.org/history
Here, we see the birthplace of Frederic Chopin (1809-1849), born in Poland to a French father and a Polish noblewoman.
From an early age, Chopin showed prodigious musical gifts – composing from an early age and devouring the works of Bach.
Chopin moved to Paris when he was 19 years old, and he remained there until his untimely death from tuberculosis at age 39.
Additional biographical information about the composer is included on the reverse of the Reward Card.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric_Chopin
As a choir boy in school, University, and Church, I recognized the name of Theodore Presser from many copies of sheet music– but was ignorant of the exciting life story of this musician.
