bookmark
Catalog Number
1994.17.1Description
Bookmark, stiff paper edged in blue forget-me-nots around a gold-framed picture of James Russell Lowell; very faint painting to the left reads "Printed in Germany." Advertises Bush-Lane Pianos, factories in Holland, Mich.History
The Bush and Lane Piano Company moved to Holland, MI in 1905 from Chicago, IL. William Bush and Walter Lane (1869-1928) operated the business and had a factory built near 24th Street and Columbia in Holland.They produced player pianos, baby grands and upright pianos. By 1919 business was so good that a four-story addition was built at a cost of $90,000. The number of employees soon rose to 350.
The death of Walter Lane in 1928 and the Great Depression of 1929 doomed the company. A brief attempt was made in 1929 to save the company by producing radio cabinets and furniture, but the company went bankrupt in 1930.