Oliver Ditson

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Oliver Ditson
Born(1811-10-20)October 20, 1811
Boston, Massachusetts
DiedDecember 21, 1888(1888-12-21) (aged 77)
Boston, Massachusetts
NationalityAmerican
OccupationMusic publisher
Known forPioneer of music publishing in America
Children1
RelativesAlice M. Ditson (daughter-in-law)
Signature

Oliver Ditson (October 20, 1811 – December 21, 1888) was an American businessman and founder of Oliver Ditson and Company, one of the major music publishing houses of the late 19th century.[1]

Early life and career[edit]

Oliver Ditson was born in Boston, Massachusetts, of Scottish ancestry, on October 20, 1811. His parents lived near the home of Paul Revere at the lower end of Hanover Street.[2]

In 1823, just out of grammar school, Oliver became an employee of Col. Samuel Hale Parker, father of J.C.D. Parker, the organist and composer. Col. Parker owned a book store on Washington street, near Franklin Street in Boston, and kept in addition to his regular stock a few pieces of music. At the time the Waverley novels were making their appearance and Col. Parker was republishing them as rapidly as they could be gotten from England.[2]

Oliver left the bookstore to master the printer's trade. About 1834, fire destroyed the store of Col. Parker. With what was saved he moved with his now indispensable young friend into a wooden building on Washington street, near School street, and later took a single counter in the famous 'Old Corner Bookstore,' then kept by William D. Ticknor in the gambrel roofed building erected in 1712, at the northwest corner of Washington and School streets. At this location, in 1834, the firm of Parker & Ditson was formed. Mr. Ditson was then twenty-three, and changed it into a music store.

In 1840, Ditson bought out Col. Parker's interest and carried on the business of music seller and publisher under the name of Oliver Ditson.

He acquired the Oliver Ditson and Company moniker in 1857 when he began collaborating with John C. Haynes on what would become the John C. Haynes & Co.

Ditson's company published the first American edition of Haydn's The Creation, "Jingle Bells" and "Darling Nelly Gray", as well as most of the works of the Hutchinson Family - though Ditson refused to publish "Get Off the Track" due to its abolitionist sentiment.

In 1858, Ditson purchased Dwight's Journal of Music, a serious musical journal.

During the American Civil War, Ditson released a number of popular songs, including "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "Tenting on the Old Camp Ground".

Theodore Presser purchased the Ditson catalogue in 1931.

Death[edit]

On December 21, 1888, Oliver Ditson, the pioneer of music publishing in America, died at his home in Boston at the age of seventy-seven.[2][3]

Published by Ditson[edit]

Gallery[edit]


  • Sheet music for Quadrille Militaire "Les Hussards" by Charles A. White published by Oliver Ditson & Co., 277 Washington Street, Boston, 1854
    Sheet music for Quadrille Militaire "Les Hussards" by Charles A. White published by Oliver Ditson & Co., 277 Washington Street, Boston, 1854
  • Sheet music for Durang's Horn Pipe published by Oliver Ditson, in Washington Street, Boston 19th century
    Sheet music for Durang's Horn Pipe published by Oliver Ditson, in Washington Street, Boston 19th century
  • Former Oliver Ditson Company building, 166 Terrace Street, in the Mission Hill neighborhood of Roxbury, Massachusetts, later gutted and re-built as luxury apartments.[4] Building inscription reads "Oliver Ditson Co. 1835-1925".[5][6]
    Former Oliver Ditson Company building, 166 Terrace Street, in the Mission Hill neighborhood of Roxbury, Massachusetts, later gutted and re-built as luxury apartments.[4] Building inscription reads "Oliver Ditson Co. 1835-1925".[5][6]

References[edit]

General[edit]

  • Cornelius, Steven Harry (2004). Music of the Civil War Era. Greenwood Press. pp. 19, 20, 22, 59. ISBN 0-313-32081-0. LCCN 2004042531. OCLC 731512310. Retrieved July 17, 2008 – via Google Books.
  • Horn, David (2003). "Oliver Ditson and Company". In John Shepherd; David Horn; Dave Laing; Paul Oliver; Peter Wicke (eds.). Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World. Vol. 1: Media, Industry and Society. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. pp. 584–585. ISBN 0-8264-6321-5. LCCN 2002074146. OCLC 612351024. Retrieved July 17, 2008 – via Internet Archive.

Inline[edit]

  1. ^ Fisher, William Arms (1933). One Hundred and Fifty Years of Music Publishing in the United States: An Historical Sketch With Special Reference to the Pioneer Publisher, Oliver Ditson Company, Inc., 1783–1933. Boston: Oliver Ditson Company. LCCN 34002890. OCLC 5923165. Retrieved August 18, 2021 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ^ a b c Liebling, Leonard, ed. (February 24, 1915). "History of Oliver Ditson Company". Musical Courier. Vol. 70, no. 8. New York. p. 8. Archived from the original on March 20, 2015. Retrieved August 21, 2012 – via Peter H. Adams.
  3. ^ "Sharp Scythe". The Boston Globe. December 22, 1888. p. 1. Retrieved December 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Mayor Menino Joins Mission Hill Community to Celebrate New Housing in Renovated Mill Buildings". City of Boston (Press release). March 29, 2010. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2013 – via Wayback Machine.
  5. ^ Oliver Lofts website
  6. ^ "Historic Boston Incorporated 1999 Preservation Revolving Fund Casebook: Property Entries Online". Historic Boston. Archived from the original on March 26, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2013.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oliver Ditson.
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