The Great Tacoma Piano Liquidation
When the Tayler-Gardner Music Company overextended itself during the boom, the court ordered a massive, fire-sale liquidation of over 200 pianos to satisfy creditors.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Following the collapse of the Tayler-Gardner Music Company of Tacoma, a receiver was appointed to settle the firm's debts. After failing to sell the company's vast inventory of 208 upright and player pianos over the course of a year, Receiver Jno. B. Reed was ordered by the Superior Court of Pierce County to dispose of the stock immediately to wind up the business. Faced with mounting rent and operational costs, the company has initiated a 'forced sale' at their showroom at 928-930 C Street. The sale, managed by A. Busher, offers steep discounts on high-end instruments from manufacturers like Sohmer, Mehlin & Sons, and Smith & Nixon, with the goal of clearing the warehouse in just fifteen days. The court's order allows for significant price cuts to attract buyers and finally close the books on the failed firm.
“It is a case of compulsion, I accept the responsibility, and proceed, by venturing the most nervy and apparently impossible thing ever attempted in the piano business.”
This 1908 liquidation captures the volatile cycle of 'boom-and-bust' retail that defined early 20th-century Tacoma. The location, 928-930 C Street, was a prime commercial address then, mirroring how modern retail spaces in downtown Tacoma continue to be repurposed during economic shifts.
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