You are here:
Putnam, W. W.
The W. W. Putnam Organ Company was established in 1894 by William Wallace Putnam in Staunton, Virginia. Putnam previously worked for the illustrious Estey Organ Company in Vermont and The Bell Organ Company of Ontario.  The firm started with very humble beginnings, operating their business out of a back room with only 2 employees.  Shortly after Putnam established his firm, Herbert E. Fox, a former partner in the Bell Organ Company of Ontario, became a partner in the W. W. Putnam Organ Company.
Putnam quickly earned a superior reputation for high quality instruments, and by 1906 the firm had 200 employees and a 50,000 square foot factory which produced more than 6,000 organs a year!  In addition to organs sold under the “W. W. Putnam & Company” brand name, the firm built small portable organs sold as “The Little Giant Folding Organ”.  The firm also sold a limited number of pianos under the “Putnam” brand name.  Putnam pianos were built by The Kimball Piano Company for Putnam under special contract.
Sometime around 1920 the firm was absorbed into The Basic Furniture Company of Waynesboro, VA.  Putnam organs were discontinued well before the Great Depression.
INSTRUMENT CATALOGS & EPHEMERA

Can you find your instrument listed in these antique catalogs?

W. W. Putnam Organ Advertisement
Turn-Of-The-Century Advertisement For The W. W. Putnam Organ Company, Staunton, VA