Sherman, Clay & Co. was an American musical instruments retailer—mainly

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

s—and a publisher and seller of sheet music, founded in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. Founded in 1853 as A. A. Rosenberg, it was sold to Leander Sherman and Clement Clay in 1870 and was incorporated as Sherman, Clay & Company in 1892. During the 20th century, it gradually expanded its retail operation into a nationwide chain of stores, and by the 1980s it had around 60 stores. It was based in San Francisco until at least the 1970s. In 2013, the company closed or sold its last retail stores.

History

What would become Sherman, Clay was founded in 1853 as the A. A. Rosenberg music store and was located in San Francisco at the corner of Kearny and Sutter Streets. Leander Schutzenbach Sherman (1847–1926), who had been working as a clerk for Rosenberg, bought out his employer in 1870 and took on Major Clement C. Clay (1836–1905) as a partner in 1879. In 1892, Sherman, Clay & Co. was incorporated with Sherman as president. During the 1890s, the firm imported music, pianos, and musical instruments; and it manufactured pianos and church organs from its factory. At that time, the two principals were Leonard Georges (born 1850), who served as treasurer, and Louis F. Geissler (born 1861). By 1894, the company had grown to four stores, with the opening of a store in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, joining existing ones in San Francisco,

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

, and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. The Portland store changed locations a few times but, notably, remained in the Woodlark Building from 1930 to 1974, and the company continued to operate a Portland store until 2013. Clay Sherman, grandson of co-founder Leander Sherman, became president of the company in 1949. The company was sold to Bernard Schwartz, of San Francisco, in 1957. The company had 21 stores in the 1950s, and was continuing to expand. It had 28 stores in spring of 1965, all located in the three states of California, Oregon and Washington. Its

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

was still in San Francisco at that time. The company soon began to expand beyond the West Coast, and by the mid-1970s it had "become a national chain, with stores from

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

and Seattle to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

." In the 1980s, it had around 60 stores. Woodlark Building - Portland Oregon

21st century

By the 2010s, Sherman, Clay claimed to have sold over two million instruments. The company also sold new and used pianos manufactured by companies such as

Steinway & Sons Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in New York City by German piano builder Henry E. Steinway, Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth le ...

(which included subcontracted pianos from suppliers sold under the secondary names Boston and Essex), the

Yamaha Corporation is a Japanese multinational musical instrument and audio equipment manufacturer. It is one of the constituents of Nikkei 225 and is the world's largest musical instrument manufacturing company. The former motorcycle division was establishe ...

, and the Henry F. Miller Piano Company. In 2013, Sherman Clay announced it was exiting the retail business in California, its longtime home base, on May 31, 2013, after 142 years. Of the four remaining California locations at that time, the stores in San Francisco and Walnut Creek were sold to

Steinway and Sons Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in New York City by German piano builder Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth led to a move to a la ...

, to remain in operation as piano dealerships, while those in Roseville and

San Bruno San Bruno () is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, incorporated in 1914. The population was 43,908 at the 2020 United States census. The city is between South San Francisco and Millbrae, adjacent to San Francisco Internat ...

were to be closed. The company had only two stores elsewhere at the time, in Seattle and

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, but they closed later the same year, the Houston store around June and the Seattle store in September 2013. The Seattle location was the company's last store. Since the 1970s, the company had been owned by Sherman Clay Group, a diverse company involved in real estate management and consumer finance. May 7, 2013, was proclaimed by San Francisco chief of Protocol

Charlotte Mailliard Shultz Charlotte Mailliard Shultz ( Smith; September 26, 1933 – December 3, 2021) was a socialite and philanthropist. She was the Chief of Protocol for the state of California, and the Chief of Protocol for the City and County of San Francisco. She ...

as Sherman Clay Day in San Francisco to honor the retailer.

Selected personnel

; General manager * Al Jacobs (1903–1985), songwriter * C.M. "Sandy" Balcom, and Leroy "Pop" Vaughan, who both once worked for the Sherman, Clay & Co., in Seattle, went on to found

Balcom and Vaughan Balcom and Vaughan Pipe Organs Inc. is the oldest pipe organ builder in the greater northwest. The company was founded in 1921 by C.M “Sandy” Balcom, who had previously worked for another organ builder, Sherman, Clay & Co. At the end of the ...

, a pipe organ manufacturing company in Seattle * Richard Powers, Sherman, Clay's general manager for the New York office, until 1925, when he went into radio * Bernie Pollack replaced Richard Powers in 1925 as general manager of the New York office ; Sheet music * Elizabeth Octavia Garrett ''(née'' Stone), mother of actress

Betty Garrett Betty Garrett (May 23, 1919 – February 12, 2011) was an American actress, comedian, singer and dancer. She originally performed on Broadway, and was then signed to a film contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. She appeared in several musical film ...

(1919–2011) managed the sheet music department in Sherman Clay, Seattle ; Professional staff * Rose Fischer (born around 1878), in 1922, left a position in the New York office of Broadway Music to work with the professional department in the New York office of Sherman, Clay & Co."Notes from Melody Land,"
'' Music Trades'', December 30, 1922, pg. 41 She was hired by Richard Powers, Sherman, Clay's general manager for the New York office; She married William C. Spiegel (born around 1875) in 1998 in San Francisco

Selected published music, composers, and lyricists

; Works * "

Li'l Liza Jane "Li'l Liza Jane" or "Little Liza Jane" is a song that dates back to the Antebellum South and is closely related to a suite of other songs with similar titles, including "Oh! Liza Poor Gal," "Goodbye Liza Jane," and "Steal Miss Liza." Songs in the ...

" (1916) * "

Rose Room "Rose Room", also known as "In Sunny Roseland", is a 1917 jazz standard, music by Art Hickman, lyrics by Harry Williams. It is almost always performed as an instrumental. Composed at a time when the popularity of ragtime was fading in favor of ...

" (1917) * "

Whispering Whispering is an unvoiced mode of phonation in which the vocal cords are abducted so that they do not vibrate; air passes between the arytenoid cartilages to create audible turbulence during speech. Supralaryngeal articulation remains the ...

" (1920) * "

My Little Grass Shack in Kealakekua, Hawaii "My Little Grass Shack in Kealakekua, Hawaii", written by Tommy Harrison, Bill Cogswell, and Johnny Noble in Hawaii in 1933, is a Hawaiian song in the Hawaiian musical style known as '' hapa haole''. One of the earliest recordings by Ted Fio Rito ...

" (1933) * " Close Your Eyes" (1933) ; Composers and lyricists * Wallie Herzer (1885–1961), composer, lyricist * Harry D. Kerr (1880–1957), composer, lyricist *

Vincent Rose Vincent Rose ''(né'' Vincenzo Cacioppo; 13 June 1880 Palermo, Italy – 20 May 1944 Rockville Centre, New York) was an Italian-born American violinist, pianist, composer, and bandleader. Career Rose holds one of the longest histories as a ban ...

(1880–1944), composer *

Nacio Herb Brown Ignacio Herbert "Nacio Herb" Brown (February 22, 1896 – September 28, 1964) was an American composer of popular songs, movie scores and Broadway theatre music in the 1920s through the early 1950s. Amongst his most enduring work is the sc ...

(1896–1964), composer *

Johnny Noble John Avery Noble (September 17, 1892 – January 13, 1944) was an American musician, composer and arranger. He was one of the key figures behind the development of the hapa haole style of music in Honolulu, and played a leading role in introduci ...

(1892–1944), composer *

Bernice Petkere Bernice Petkere (August 11, 1901 – January 7, 2000) was an American songwriter. She was dubbed the "Queen of Tin Pan Alley" by Irving Berlin. Biography Born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, she began performing in vaudeville as a child. "St ...

(1901–2000), composer, lyricist

Selected sheet music artists and engravers

* Leland Stanford Morgan (1886–1981)

Images

File:LizaJane1916SheetMusicCover.jpeg, Wesley Raymond
De Lappe
(1887–1952) File:Mummy Mine 01A.jpg, Cover artist: Unknown File:Rose Room cover.jpg, Wesley Raymond
De Lappe
(1887–1952) File:Whispering sheetmusic.pdf, Wesley Raymond
De Lappe
(1887–1952) File:Whispering cover.jpg, Cover artist: Unknown File:Sheet music cover - JUST AN OLD LOVE SONG (1922).jpg, Porter Murdock Griffith
(1889–1969)
Song sheets to software : a guide to print music, software, and web sites for musicians
'' by Elizabeth C. Axford, Scarecrow Press (2004), pg. 21;

References

Archival resources :;

University of Washington Libraries The University of Washington Libraries (UW Libraries) is the academic library system of the University of Washington, based in Seattle, Washington, United States. It serves the Seattle, Tacoma, and Bothell campuses of the University of Wash ...

, Digital Collections :* Image
"Hinkley Block, Seattle"
''(

circa Circa is a Latin word meaning "around, approximately". Circa or CIRCA may also refer to: * CIRCA (art platform), in London * Circa (band), a progressive rock supergroup * Circa (company), an American skateboard footwear company * Circa (contempora ...

'' 1911),

Museum of History and Industry The Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) is a history museum in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest private heritage organization in Washington state, maintaining a collection of nearly fou ...

, Seattle :* Image
"Installing totem pole at Westlake Mall, Seattle, 1960,"

, Seattle :* Image
Company salesman with TV, phonograph, radio, ca. 1947,"

, Seattle San Francisco Public Library, San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection :* Image
"Sherman, Clay & Co., in San Francisco,"
Inline citations

External links

Interview with Past President, Don Ravitch
NAMM Oral History Library, April 7, 2005
Interview with Chairman, Eric Schwartz
NAMM Oral History Library, May 14, 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sherman Clay Companies based in San Mateo County, California Retail companies established in 1853 Retail companies disestablished in 2013 Defunct companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Defunct retail companies of the United States