A.W. Perry's Sons
Dates
- Existence: c. 1870s - 1967
Biography
The music publishing firm of A.W. Perry's Sons was founded by Austin W. Perry (1829-1900). The firm operated in Sedalia, Missouri, from the early 1870s into the 1960s, publishing sheet music and a monthly magazine, Perry's Musical Magazine, which was issued from 1881 until the 1960s. After A.W. Perry's death, the firm was continued by his two sons, Andrew J. (d. 1945) and Philip B. (1859-1953). Andrew Perry managed the publishing operations and the retail store in Sedalia, while Philip supplied compositions from his Kansas City residence. During the 1880s, Philip Perry studied music in Austria and Germany; his Jubelfest-Marsch was published in Vienna. He composed music under his own name as well as the pseudonyms of M.W. Butler (Butler being his mother's maiden name), G. Holcombe and possibly other pseudonyms. When Andrew Perry passed away in 1945, the business was carried on by Philip Perry's grandchildren Warner A. Cory Jr. and Virginia Cory Helms.
While A.W. Perry's Sons published mostly Philip B. Perry's compositions and those by amateurs, it did publish the first edition of Scott Joplin's rag, The Favorite in 1904. Most Perry publications, however, were simple arrangements of popular tunes, pedagogical pieces, or sentimental parlor music. Perry's publications were distributed nationally, mostly through mail orders. The firm closed in 1967.
