2010-04-15/2019-02-11 - From the OHS Database Builders Listing editor, August 8, 2016. - Leander Sherman was a clerk in the music store of A. A. Rosenberg in 1860s San Francisco, California. In September of 1870, Sherman made an offer to buy out Rosenberg which he accepted. Being short of capital, Sherman took F. A. Hyde as a partner a year later. The store operated as Sherman & Hyde until 1876 when retired Army Major C. C. Clay purchased Hyde's interest, and the new partnership of Sherman Clay was created. There does not seem to be a consensus as to the exact form of the business name; Sherman Clay, Sherman & Clay, Sherman Clay & Co., and Sherman, Clay & Co. all appear, the last two both appearing on the same advertisement. Sherman appears to have been the driving force in the company, with Clay staying in the background. The company always dealt with the high end of the piano market, first selling Weber pianos from New York, then importing Mansfeldt & Notni from Germany, and finally becoming the sales agent for Steinway (United States). Sherman was a major patron of the arts in San Francisco, the symphony and opera company both benefitted from his largess. He also arranged for the appearance of several soloists in San Francisco, acting as their host during their time in San Francisco, many of whom gave performances under the sponsorship of Sherman Clay in its own concert hall. Major Clay died in 1905, but his son Phil replaced him as partner. The company name remained unchanged. In 1906, the Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire destroyed the store, but the company records were saved, and the store was reopened in the home of Phil Clay. The business soon returned to its old address in a new eight-story fire-proof building. Additional stores opened in other cities as the company expanded. Although primarily a piano dealer, Sherman Clay also offered organ tuning and service in the early 1900s. / Sherman died in 1926, and Phillip Clay took over the business. He and other family members continued operating it until 1960 when the business was sold to the Parker Pace Corporation. The company started a commercial real estate division which owns and operates several shopping malls.1 The company is still in business today, but no longer selling pianos: It closed its last retail store in 2013. The company, now known as the Sherman Clay Group, is a diversified firm with interests in real estate, commercial financing, paper recycling and manufacturing.2 Sources: Sherman Clay website, http://www.shermanclay.com/, accessed August 24, 2016. Nolte, Carl (April 13, 2013). "Sherman Clay piano merchant's swan song: After 142 years as S.F. institution, Sherman Clay bows out of retailing [in California]". San Francisco Chronicle.
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