Barnum who persuaded Jenny Lind - the Swedish Nightingale - to make a concert tour of the United States.

After her agreement, Barnum commissioned the Chickering company to manufacture a custom grand piano for her nationwide tour, ultimately involving 93 performances.

Coincidentally, as the tour began, Henry E. Steinway (Steinweg) and his large family arrived in New York as immigrants from Germany.

On December 1, 1852, a fire destroyed Chickering's piano factory located at 336 Washington Street in Boston.

This not only saved space but brought the powerful bass strings directly over the most resonant part of the sound-board, a principle used to this day in the construction of all pianos, both grands and uprights.