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THE APPRENTICE YEARS OF JACOB GROSS,
SUPERINTENDENT OF THE STIEFF PIANO
COMPANY, AS RECORDED IN HIS
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
tudents of history always find unpublished
materials exciting, even when they illumi-
nate only small aspects of the past. We were
accordingly delighted when Mrs. George Jacob
Gross agreed to share with us an unpublished
autobiographical account of the apprentice-
ship and early journeyman experience of her
late husband's grandfather, Jacob Gross, who
in later years gained widespread renown as
superintendent of the Charles M. Stieff Piano
Company of Baltimore.
The autobiography is a touching account of
young Gross's often trying and, at times,
deeply disappointing experiences as an ap-
prentice from the time he left home in 1833,
as a lad of fourteen, to learn the art of piano
building, to 1838, the point at which he had
begun to acquire abroad the knowledge and
expertise which enabled him to achieve success
later in America and especially in Baltimore.
While absorbing as a straightforward, at times
naive account of frustrations and hardships,
young Gross's reminiscences have larger
significance as a historical document, for re-
ferences he makes about the journeyman
experiences of his co-workers indicate that the
vicissitudes Gross endured were likely typical
for many who received their early training in
Germany and who then traveled as journey-
men to complete it.
Gross recorded his recollections and impres-
sions in a firm clear hand in a booklet measur-
ing approximately four and one-half by seven
inches. Attached to the volume are two state-
ments. The first, written by Jacob's son, Charles
Jacob, explains that the reminiscences are a
partial history of his father's early life. Charles
Jacob notes that his mother gave him the man-
uscript on April 20, 1896, and concludes with
the wish that it pass to his sons after his death.
As it turned out, Charles Jacob predeceased his
mother, and, according to the second ap-
pended statement, written by Jacob's grandson
George Jacob Gross and dated April 20, 1979,
the executors of her estate decided that the
document should pass to George Jacob be-
cause he had seven grandsons to carry on the
family name of Gross. George Jacob's state-
ment also contains the information that the
manuscript was translated into English by a
friend of his brother Robert's wife about the
year 1953, in Boston.¹
A reference to Bern late in the narrative in-
dicates that the inspiration to record the vicissi-
tudes of his early years came to Jacob at a time
when he was already confident of realizing his
ambition to become a master piano builder. At
that point in his development, as he explains at
the beginning of his account, he felt that it
might be useful to pinpoint moments and
events which in retrospect could be identified
as important milestones in his progress toward
mastery of his craft and in his intellectual and
moral development. "Let it be a mirror," he
says there of his narrative, "in which I can see
the things I have done wrong and the progress
I have made."
In the section following his preamble Jacob
provides a brief summary of the history of Un-
tergröningen, the town in which he was born
on July 26,1819, and a short description of the
geographical features of the area of Württem-
berg in which it is located:
The Kocher River coming from Aalen passes a
mountain slope in a very picturesque district.
On the slope is the great castle of Gröningen.
Partly above the castle and partly at the foot of
the slope is the town of Gröningen.
Jacob's father, Johann Georg Gross, had
eventually inherited the family-owned brewery
and inn Zum Adler [At the Sign of the Eagle],
which his father had built in 1800. As brewer
and innkeeper, Jacob recalls, his father had to
work hard, for he had also inherited debts. For
years his only help came from his wife Creszen-
cia, née Maier, the daughter of a burgher
farmer, and a few hired hands.
In his early years Jacob, youngest of twelve
children, was frail, and since his only brother,
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S
The Apprentice Years of Jacob Gross
Anton, wished to study for the ministry, a voca-
tion which his parents encouraged, Johann
Georg "had little hope of leaving the inn and
brewery to one of us boys," as Jacob puts it, and
decided to make his daughter Marian and her
husband his heirs. Having reached this decision,
Johann Georg drew up an agreement with
Marian and her husband providing that for the
duration of his life he retain "for himself and his
remaining children one room which could be
heated, a chamber, and a kitchen." The agree-
ment also assured Johann Georg a yearly
allowance, which he received, Jacob recalls,
"mostly in fruit, meat and eggs, and daily drink"
in addition to a small cash sum.
After the wedding, Jacob reports, his father
and mother stayed on in the inn and contin-
ued, moreover, "to work as hard as before for
the good of the young people." Jacob also had
chores, helping in the brewery and inn during
the winter and taking cows to and from pasture
in the summer. Concerning his school experi-
ence Jacob says rather little beyond lamenting
the fact that frequently changing teachers
caused lacunae in his education. He learned to
read and to write, to be sure, and he also ac-
quired some knowledge of mathematics, he
says, but he had no chance to study a foreign
language, instruction in history was erratic,
and he heard next to nothing in school about
art or other cultural subjects.
From early childhood on it was Jacob's wish,
and later also his parents' wish, that he learn a
trade. An opportunity unexpectedly presented
itself early in 1833 when a distant relative, an
organ builder named Wilhelm who lived in
nearby Gmünd and had come to Untergrönin-
gen to repair the organ in the chapel of Unter-
gröningen Castle, offered to accept Jacob as an
apprentice, with the proviso that he first "learn
a little about music." Jacob and his parents
quickly seized the opportunity, and on May 1,
1833, Jacob took his first piano lesson. Five
months later, having learned at least the rudi-
ments of piano technique, he left home, at age
fourteen, and traveled on foot to Gmünd to
begin his apprenticeship, on October 24,1833.
At that time young people wishing to learn a
trade were apprenticed to a master craftsman,
who, in exchange for a fee, offered instruction,
shelter, food, sometimes also clothing, and
medical care in case of illness. The apprentice
was expected to bind himself to the master for
a specified period of service. The terms of the
agreement were set forth in written form in a
contract. At the end of the specified training
period the apprentice could present himself
to a guild member for a practical examination,
which entailed completing an assigned project.
After having passed the practical examination
the apprentice had to stand an oral examina-
tion. By successfully absolving these two
requirements the candidate obtained a certifi-
cate authorizing him to seek further ex-
perience as a traveling journeyman and to
work for wages. The additional experience ac-
quired as traveling journeyman was considered
to qualify young craftsmen to set themselves up
as masters.
As will be seen from Jacob's experience over
the next four years, his training was lacking in
the standards considered characteristic of a
German apprenticeship. His account gives re-
vealing details of his experience with his first
master:
Mr. Wilhelm, who was still a young man, was
very good to me at first; the food also was good.
Regular hours for meals and work helped very
much to improve my health and I was always in
good physical condition. I was soon used to
being there and fortunately I was not home-
sick. Once a week I had to visit a drawing
school and Sundays I went to a school for reli-
gious education and a professional school for
apprentices. In accordance with an agreement
my brother-in-law had made with Mr. Wilhelm I
had to serve three years as an apprentice.
Board and room was included. My mother did
my washing and kept my clothes in order. My
brother-in-law had to pay 60 guilders² for my
apprenticeship fee besides 1 Thaler extra to
Mrs. Wilhelm. Half of the apprenticeship fee
had to be paid at the beginning and the other
half at the end of the three years.
Mr. Wilhelm promised to make a good organ
builder out of me; he could not keep this
promise, since he had not much knowledge of
organ building himself and he was only rarely
busy working on organs. Once in a while he
had some repair work or a refinishing or a tun-
ing job. Thus I had to be satisfied with the
things I saw and heard.
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I worked in Marbach until May 30, 1837. Very few important things happened here. There
were
five other fellows working at his place. The master was a man about fifty years old, but he
would have
fitted much better in a position as pastor or lawyer than a carpenter. He did like his glass of
wine and
spent most of his money for wine. He had an only daughter of about 13 years. The meals
were mea-
ger and so was the pay. I had 1 guilder, 12 kreuzer. From here I visited my friend Gottfried
Knödler, a
printer. He was destined to become a soldier and he was at that time stationed with the 3rd
Infantry
Regiment at Ludwigsburg. It was only a distance of two hours from Marbach and I therefore
visited
him frequently. My friend, well acquainted with me, suggested that I see Mr. Walker, a well-
known
organ builder in Ludwigsburg. Knödler called on Mr. Walker and told him about me and Mr.
Walker
wanted to see a letter of recommendation about me regarding my experience and character,
etc. Un-
fortunately I did not possess a single letter of recommendation, and some means of
subterfuge had
to be found. A co-worker Wilhelm Maas wrote one for me in the name of the earlier
mentioned Mr.
Berger. This mentioned my experience in organ building, in fact, it flattered me not a little. I
had it
delivered to my friend Knödler, who in turn brought it to Mr. Walker . . . .
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The Apprentice Years of Jacob Gross
A Page from Jacob's Memoirs
The Apprentice Years of Jacob Gross
Jacob could also not help noticing that the
work done in the shop was poorly paid. The sit-
uation worsened when Mr. Wilhelm fell ill.
From this time on he no longer "bothered too
much" about his two apprentices. During this
time of illness and adversity it also emerged that
he was the kind of man who, as Jacob puts it,
"thought that he could cure his troubles with
wine, which did him more harm than good."
Since Gmünd was not far from his parents'
home, Jacob could visit his family on his free
days. On one of these visits, in late October,
1834, a year after he had begun his apprentice-
ship, he arrived at home to find his mother
quite ill and was deeply saddened when the
news came the following day that she had died.
Shortly before Christmas that same year
he also lost his paternal grandmother, the
other member of the family to whom he was
especially devoted.
On May 4, 1835, Mr. Wilhelm died, and, as
Jacob writes, "things in the shop became criti-
cal." For some time, he explains, Wilhelm had
been running his business with three helpers
and two apprentices, and for quite a while Mrs.
Wilhelm had been "secretly living with the old-
est helper." After her husband's death, Jacob
continues, Mrs. Wilhelm's first plan was to
manage the business herself with the help of
her lover, whom Jacob describes as an able car-
penter. The hitch was that the latter was also
"going steady with another girl."
The changes and uncertainties resulting
from Wilhelm's untimely death prompted
Jacob's family at this point to discuss his future
with one of his former teachers. Following his
advice, the Grosses decided that Jacob should
leave Mrs. Wilhelm's shop and continue his ap-
prenticeship elsewhere. His teacher recom-
mended a piano builder in Kirchheim named
Keim, and a few days later Jacob set out on foot
for Kirchheim, carrying with him a letter of in-
troduction. Arriving in the early evening, after
a seven-hour hike, he went at once to see Mr.
Keim, who received him cordially but told him
that he could not take him on at that time. He
suggested that Jacob see an organ builder
named Walker in Ludwigsburg and even of-
fered to accompany him there. Later that
evening, however, Jacob had doubts, he says,
about following Mr. Keim's advice and accord-
ingly left Kirchheim the following day without
reporting back to him as he had promised. He
soon realized, he writes, that this impulsive de-
cision had been a serious mistake which af-
fected his entire future.
In Mrs. Wilhelm's shop conditions continued
to deteriorate and for several days Jacob was un-
certain what his next move should be. Again he
offers rather revealing insights into practices of
apprenticeship which do not conform to our
perhaps idealized concept of apprenticeship:
Someone advised me to take my examination
as a full-fledged carpenter and then try to ob-
tain work somewhere else. For my examination
I had to make a pine bedstead. I tried hard to
do the best I could. In a week my work was fin-
ished and it was quite satisfactory. Now I had to
undergo a verbal examination, to which my
brother-in-law was invited. The two of us went
to see the man in charge of the examination.
We reached his house a little late, and he was
just ready to leave for the town hall, where he
had some work to do. He said, "Why didn't you
come earlier? I have to leave now."
My brother-in-law was a smart man; he had a lit-
tle talk with this man's wife and casually he
managed to slip her some money, which
worked like a charm. The man soon returned
in a very pleasant mood. I did not even have to
be examined any more. My apprenticeship was
declared finished and a paper to that effect was
made out. The fee was not so very high: for the
chief master 1 guilder, also for the guildmaster
and the man in charge of the examination,
plus a little extra for the papers. After that the
paper had to be sealed at the town hall.
The date was August 5, 1835, and Jacob had
just turned sixteen. While his certificate, im-
properly obtained though it was, officially con-
firmed that he had completed his apprentice-
ship, technically he had not fulfilled the terms
of his contract with the Wilhelms, which pro-
vided for three years of service. Once again his
brother-in-law, acting on his behalf, demon-
strated his shrewdness in negotiating Jacob's
release with Mrs. Wilhelm.
That matter settled, Jacob and his brother-
in-law returned to Untergröningen, where
Jacob did some painting and carpentry work in
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The Apprentice Years of Jacob Gross
the Eagle and visited with his family until his
Wanderbuch arrived.³
With his Wanderbuch, and "fully equipped
with a new knapsack, clothes, and 12 guilders,"
Jacob set out from Untergröningen on Sep-
tember 7, 1835 to begin the next phase of his
training, and here he depicts in rather moving
words his fond relationship with his father and
the caring advice he took on his way:
. . . My father accompanied me to Holzhausen,
about an hour's walk from Gröningen. I did
not want to have my old father walk any farther
with me. He handed me my knapsack and gave
me also much advice. He said, "Look here,
Jacob, I cannot give you any money; you know
what our conditions are at home. Believe in
God, do the right things in life, always try to be
ambitious to learn something. Take care that
you do not spend your money foolishly and
lead a decent life; try to keep good company.
Do not forget to pray, and God will not leave
you; think also about your mother and me,
wherever you may be."
My father wept when he left and I could hardly
control my emotions. I was thus left to myself.
Everything I owned was in my knapsack; the
wide world was in front of me.
Walking some fifteen kilometers, he reached
Gmünd, where Mrs. Wilhelm tried to tempt
him to return to her shop by telling him that
an organ builder would soon be coming to
work for her. Jacob had already decided, how-
ever, to try his luck in Ulm, where his sister
Katherine lived. This required another walk,
this time of about sixty kilometers. In Ulm he
quickly found work, but was dismayed when
after a few days his employer told him that he
still lacked experience and offered to keep him
on as an apprentice for a small fee.
Unwilling to accept such an offer after hav-
ing successfully passed the examinations which
qualified him to work for wages, Jacob re-
turned to Gmünd, where Mrs. Wilhelm was still
willing to hire him for a modest wage. But he
soon found that he was working only from time
to time, for business was sporadic. An addi-
tional disadvantage was that in the quarters as-
signed to him in her parents' home, where she
was then living and to which she had relocated
her shop, he had no privacy and was unable to
lock up his belongings. One day half of the
money he had left in his knapsack ("about 7
guilders") disappeared. Although he strongly
suspected Mrs. Wilhelm herself, for she was al-
ways in financial straits, he said nothing.
Shortly after this unhappy episode, Mrs. Wil-
helm rented a house where she could carry on
her business more expeditiously; soon after the
move the organ builder, whose name was Carl
von Berger, did indeed arrive from Bamberg.
Because von Berger was still unknown in
Gmünd, his arrival had no effect on the busi-
ness. To make himself known he decided to
demonstrate his skill by building a piano. With
Mrs. Wilhelm's approval he proceeded to carry
out this plan with the assistance of Jacob and
Mrs. Wilhelm's other helper. Work progressed
very slowly, Jacob recalls, because everything
"had to be made." The piano was finally fin-
ished in March, 1836, but there was no buyer
and the beautiful piano went to the pawn shop
for 60 guilders, so that some of the money
spent on materials could be recouped.
At this point in the shop's declining fortunes
Mrs. Wilhelm laid off her third employee,
and Jacob decided to leave with him. "A few
things went to the pawn broker and 2 guilders
were obtained in this manner. This was my
total capital."
Two days later they reached Aalen, where
they collected 18 kreuzer from the head mas-
ter of the carpenters' guild. In Ellwangen they
found work as carpenters, but the work was
hard, as Jacob describes it:
My hands were often swollen My new employer
liked his drink and went evenings to a local
inn, and he slept mornings till 10 or 11 o'clock
to get rid of his hangover. . . . Thus I returned
to Gmünd. . . . I longed for an employer where
I could see and learn things, but the fulfillment
of this wish was a long time off yet.
Shortly after this von Berger left to report
for military service. These developments made
it evident to Jacob that his future in the shop
was in jeopardy. The wisest course, he decided,
would be to leave before being laid off, and on
January 26, 1837 he and Sachsenmeier, the
co-worker whom Mrs. Wilhelm had just dis-
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The Apprentice Years of Jacob Gross
charged, set out together for Switzerland, hop-
ing to find work there.
The sortie into Switzerland proved to be less
a work experience than a youthful adventure.
Jacob had only two guilders in his pocket. He
describes his financial plight:
I wish to remark here that Mr. von Berger in
paying me off cheated me out of 20 kreuzer on
my weekly pay. Instead of receiving 1 guilder
and 20 kreuzer, I got only 1 guilder. I had noth-
ing in writing and no witnesses. For the time I
worked previous to making an arrangement
for an increase in pay he wanted to pay noth-
ing at all. I went to see the Stadtschultheiss.a
man whose duty it is to settle debts. I received a
few guilders for this time but I lost out on my
20 kreuzer weekly extra pay.
On February 3 they reached Friedrichs-
hafen and were much impressed by their first
sight of the Bodensee (Lake Constance). As
they left the steamboat at Rorschach, they were
able to show the travel money required for
passport inspection only after a restaurant
owner lent Jacob two thalers on his watch.
In St. Gallen they had the good fortune to
be offered a three-hour ride, and then, joined
by a soap maker from the Kingdom of Sar-
dinia, continued on foot toward Wiel:
Our soap maker told us that there were two
monasteries here and that they always served
some food to passing journeymen. This
sounded mighty good to us and soon we rang
the bell at the first place. We received some
soup after the soap maker told the Capucine
monk a hard luck story. The soup looked
rather dubious and the spoon hanging on a
chain near the gate looked awful rusty. I lost all
my appetite and we soon started out for the
other place, a cloister for nuns. Here we each
received a good piece of bread, which I pre-
ferred to the Capucine soup.
In the account which Jacob kept of his ex-
penses during this winter trip it appears that
shelter and food were much costlier in the
larger towns than in the villages, a fact of life
for which he may have been unprepared.
Hurrying to reach their goal, Winterthur,
they found that there was little work for car-
Expenses during my trip to Switzerland
for my travel companion and myself:
At Donzdorf 5 kreuzer
Geiseingen 30 "
Schuserhaus 5 "
Ulm 39 "
Dorf 48 "
Biberach 5 "
Otterswang 25 "
Aulendorf 4 "
Dorf 2 "
Ravensburg 10 "
Friedrichshafen 41 "
Across Lake
Constance 48 "
Roschach 34 "
297 kreuzer
(Baden)
Elderdingen 10 kreuzer
Engin 10 "
Small village 6 "
Duttlingen 42 "
68 "
297 kreuzer
St. Gallen 10 "
Village 3 hrs.
from St. Gallen
Stayed night 45 "
Wyl 4 "
Village 10 "
Winterthur 16 schilling
Zurich 10 "
Village 8 "
" 4 "
Eglisau 10 "
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