Company Geography

By the late 1800's, Oliver Ditson & Company had become a far reaching empire with firms in many of the major cities within the Eastern United States. Based originally in Boston, Ditson spread his business by buying out other firms and set up more of his own. (Hall) This was a strategic move for the company, as it eliminated competition and presented opportunities for networking. He could recruit composers into his publishing business from each of the cities. It was beneficial for composers to partner with a publisher such as Ditson, who could widely distribute and build popularity.

The following map shows the distribution of firms that are represented by works in this exhibit. Each was either started by Ditson's family, received financial support from Ditson, was bought by the company, or was used as a distribution location. In analysis of this map and the locations of Ditson's firms, a trend has emerged in which Ditson bought companies in new cities before etablishing his own roots. This strategy served to be an effective one.

Firms started by Ditson's sons - indicated by green dots

• Chas. H. Ditson & Co., New York
• J. E. Ditson & Co., Philadelphia

Firms with financial backing from Ditson - indicated by purple dots

• John C. Church, Cincinnati
• Lyon & Healy, Chicago
• S.T. Gordon, New York

Firms acquired by Ditson – indicated by red dots

• Beck & Lawton, Philedelphia
• C.C.Clapp, Boston
• Traux & Baldwin, Cincinnati

International Firms that Ditson partnered with - indicated by yellow dots

• Francis, Day & Hunter, London
• The Canadian-American Music Co. Limited, Toronto

Click on the dots for more information about each firm. Click here to view the full screen version of this map.

(Williams)