The Elias Howe Company was a 19th and early 20th century musical firm located in Boston, USA and founded by Elias Howe, Jr. (1820–1895). His company was successful, selling more than a million copies of his music instruction books by 1892. Howe was cousin to the inventor of the sewing machine and related to Julia Ward Howe, composer of The Battle Hymn of the Republic. The development of the company during Howe's lifetime Howe acquired a fiddle as a young boy and soon learned to play, working his way through tunes that he heard. He couldn't afford to buy the expensive sheet music of his day, but his ear was good enough for him to write down tunes that he heard other New England fiddlers play. He put together a book of tunes in this manner, while still young. Musical publications Howe eventually acquired a substantial collection of these tunes and managed to get them published in book form in 1840 as The Musician's Companion. He was unable to pay all at once for the 500 copies that printer Wright & Kidder agreed to print for him, but bought copies as he was able. The books were successful, and he sold enough of them, door-to-door and city-to-city, to open his own shop in 1842. By 1850, Howe had published several other volumes of tune collections and musical instruction. In about that year, he sold his rights to those works to the Oliver Ditson Company of Boston and agreed to desist from publishing music for a period of 10 years, buying land in South Framingham and managing the South Reading Ice Company. He returned to publishing in about 1861 after the term of the agreement with Ditson had elapsed and became one of the country's most prolific musical publishers. By his own estimate, he compiled and published about 200 "musical works", under his own name, and using the pseudonyms "Gumbo Chaff," "Patrick O'Flanigan," and "Mary O'Neill." Musical instruments Sky notes that during the American Civil War, Howe expanded his activities to include manufacturing drums for Massachusetts regiments. He was offered the position of Director of Bands for the United States Army, and the rank of Lt. Colonel, by President Lincoln. He chose instead to continue manufacturing drums and fifes and publishing books on their use in marching bands. Location of the Company The Elias Howe Company for many years was located