On October 29, 1912, Fridolin sent this letter (pictured below) to his brother Wilhelm from his hometown in Faribault, Minnesota.

Being of the same nature, he was also a successful piano manufacturer and held patents for inventions in many other industries as well, including wood preservation. At one such event a newspaper wrote, вЂњIt was this upright, the tone of which had first captured attention, and after testing the performance of the instrument, we must confess that, in its sonority as well as delicacy and beauty of tone, it is in no way inferior to the best uprights of the select few top-selling international вЂname brandsвЂ™.вЂќ In the meantime, WilhelmвЂ™s brother, Fridolin Schimmel, had started his own piano company, Schimmel & Company, (formerly Schimmel & Nelson) in Faribault, Minnesota and was challenging his brother on the other side of the Atlantic. Several royal families and nobilities soon appointed Schimmel, and Schimmel won several medals at Trade Fairs and Exhibitions. His efforts and success resulted in many awards and early export sales. Wilhelm was a well- trained and experienced carpenter and piano technician by profession and a technical genius and inventor by nature.ДЇrom the very beginning, Wilhelm followed his motto вЂњQuality will prevailвЂќ and thanks to his very rigid quality policy the young company grew fast and became known for quality and design. Wilhelm Schimmel (1854-1946) founded the Schimmel Piano Company in 1885 in Leipzig under the name Wilhelm Schimmel Pianofortefabrik.

Schimmel piano model numbers