Knabe & Gaehle was one of the most important names in 19th Century American piano history. William Knabe entered into partnership with William Henry Gaehle in 1839, forming firm of “Knabe & Gaehle” in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1854, Gaehle withdrew giving complete control to Knabe, and the name was changed to “Wm. Knabe & Company.” Knabe continued to build award winning pianos for over 150 years, making the Knabe name one of the most popular and respected names in piano history.
W. H. Gaehle continued building pianos under his own name until the Civil War era. For a brief period, Gaehle went into partnership with Charles Maas, building pianos under the name of “Gaehle & Maas”. In 1865, Charles Maas started built pianos under his own name. Charles Maas went out of business in 1885.