Bristow as Businessman and Musical Authority
Keyword(s):
New York
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Bristow organized two piano and melodeon businesses--the first a disaster, the second more successful. He provided testimonials to many instrument manufacturers (Steinway, Chickering, Bradbury, and Weber pianos) and other music-related endeavors. He was also associated with the United States Mutual Pianoforte Association (1867), a nonprofit that made pianos available to the general public at low prices. Bristow also served as a musical-instrument judge at the 1876 Centennial Exposition and became swept up in a controversy about the judging process. He was defended by some New York critics but was deemed guilty by association by many and must have rued the day he agreed to take on the task.