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| Name | Ralph Sperry |
| Birth/Death Dates | 1880-1961 |
| Where in Indiana | Allen County--Fort Wayne ; Brown County--Nashville |
| When in Indiana | ca. 1920-1961 |
| Notable For | Ralph Sperry was a nationally known piano designer. When the Great Depression hit he was living with his family in Ft. Wayne where he worked for the Packard Piano Company. The family moved to Nashville, Indiana where he and his wife found work. In 1934 he went to work for the Wurlitzer Piano Company. He designed their first upright spinet piano, the Wurlitzer 440, in 1937. His wife Portia managed the Brown County Folks Shop in Nashville, Indiana, and created the Abigail doll and wrote a children's book about her. |
| Description | Sperry is the gentleman standing on the left, wearing a light colored suit. The two men are in a room where pianos are being constructed. |
| Subject | Sperry, Ralph, 1880-1961
Pianos
Musical instrument industry
Piano--Construction
Rudolph Wurlitzer Company
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| Item ID | ralph-piano SP2-2.3 |
| Source of Image | Sperry Family. IHS may not reproduce. |
| Digital Collection | Notable Hoosiers (DC 010) |
| Bibliography/Notes | Information taken from: Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History, Fall, 2001. |
| Copyright Notice | Digital image © 2005 Indiana Historical Society. All Rights Reserved. |
