Mollie's Dream Waltz, Reissiger

Mollie’s Dream, composed by Reissiger, is another example of a piece with multiple publishers. This one in particular has five publishers: Oliver Ditson & Co. in Boston, C.C. Clapp & Co. in Boston, Beck & Lawton in Philadelphia, Truax & Baldwin in Cincinnati, and S.T. Gordon in New York. This broad distribution demonstrates Ditson’s widespread access to a national network. One interesting thing to note about Mollie’s Dream, is that there is no indicated date of publishing or copyright.

Mollie’s Dream was published in New York by S.T. Gordon, which was a publishing company established in 1855. It grew out of a small company called Berry & Gordon, which was financially backed by Ditson starting in 1854. It is evident that Ditson took advantage of his network to set up shop in New York. It wasn’t until 1867 that he sent his son Charles to New York to form Chas. H. Ditson & Co. It is not indicated that Charles was in any way involved with the distribution of Mollie’s Dream in New York City.

The situation was similar in Cincinnati. Traux & Baldwin was a small company in Cincinnati that was bought by Ditson in 1859, at which point Ditson obtained its catalogue. This was Ditson’s gateway into the city. By the year of 1869, Ditson partnered with John Church Jr., and together they established John C. Church in Cincinnati. This was funded and run by Oliver Ditson & Company. Since it is not mentioned as a publisher for this piece, it was likely published before the existence of the John C. Church firm. 

Little information is available on the connection between Beck & Lawton, other than it was a small firm in Philadelphia eventually acquired by Ditson. C.C. Clapp & Co. was a firm that Ditson was partnered with at the time of this publication. This brief analysis undertaken of the relationship between each of these publishers with Ditson can help to identify the time of publication of this piece. It was likely published between the years of 1859-1867, before Ditson sent his son Charles to New York and before he had established a relationship with John Church Jr. Otherwise, these big firms would have been associated with its distribution.