Oliver Ditson | |
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| Born | (1811-10-20)October 20, 1811 Boston, Massachusetts |
| Died | December 21, 1888(1888-12-21) (aged 77) Boston, Massachusetts |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Music publisher |
| Known for | Pioneer of music publishing in America |
| Children | 1 |
| Relatives | Alice M. Ditson (daughter-in-law) |
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Oliver Ditson (October 20, 1811 – December 21, 1888) was an American businessman and founder ofOliver Ditson and Company, one of the major music publishing houses of the late 19th century.[1]
Oliver Ditson was born inBoston,Massachusetts, of Scottish ancestry, on October 20, 1811. His parents lived near the home ofPaul Revere at the lower end ofHanover Street.[2]
In 1823, just out of grammar school, Oliver became an employee of Col.Samuel Hale Parker, father ofJ.C.D. Parker, the organist and composer. Col. Parker owned a book store onWashington street, near Franklin Street in Boston, and kept in addition to his regular stock a few pieces of music. At the time theWaverley 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 byWilliam 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 theOliver Ditson and Company moniker in 1857 when he began collaborating withJohn C. Haynes on what would become theJohn C. Haynes & Co.
Ditson's company published the first American edition ofHaydn'sThe Creation, "Jingle Bells" and "Darling Nelly Gray", as well as most of the works of theHutchinson Family - though Ditson refused to publish "Get Off the Track" due to its abolitionist sentiment.
In 1858, Ditson purchasedDwight's Journal of Music, a serious musical journal.
During theAmerican 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.
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]
![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]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fwikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aDitson_Bldg_Boston.JPG)
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