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| Tony J Placht blue label from a 1940s Regal guitar I owned |
Anton Joseph Placht was born in 1867 in Germany to luthier Joseph Placht (b.1840, d. 1896) and his wife Francisca. He was the third of seven children [1][2].
Revised 3/23/2023
J. Placht & Son
Joseph Placht was born on September 16, 1839 in Austria to Johann and Katharina Placht. He was a luthier who worked in St Louis, Missouri as a wholesaler and manufacturer of stringed musical instruments. I haven't found any instruments with a
- 1878 - Located at 1303 South 5th Street [2]
- approx. 1884 - 'Moved' to 1317 South Broadway (road was likely renamed) [3][4]
- approx. 1888 - Opened a new location at 113 South Broadway [5][6]
- 1893 - Placht & Son - Moved to 1211 Franklin Avenue and closed the 1317 S. Broadway location [6]
- 1895 - Closed the 1211 Franklin Avenue location - 113 South Broadway location is the only one left [7]
Joseph Placht died in 1896 at the age of 57 in the family home at 5123 Wells Avenue [8].
- 1898 - Current employees: Frances and Joseph Jr [9]
J. Placht & Bro
In 1908, Joseph Jr changed the name of the business to reflect the change in ownership that had happened thirteen years prior.
- 1908 - Business changes name to J. Placht & Bro [10]
- 1916 - Shop moved to 613 Pine Street [11]
- 1925 - Opened a branch store at 6311 Delmar Blvd [11]
- Advertised York band instruments and Washburn stringed instruments
- Lyon and Healy commended the store's billboard for the Washburn line of instruments as the first "out-of-door" sign for their lines [13][16]
Tony J. Placht
Born Anton Joseph Placht, he took the name Anthony and began going by Tony as early as 1897. He lived at 1703 Cora Avenue [15]. He married native Missourian Emelia (or Emillie) Placht (nee Dieckmann) [16]. They had two children, Margariete (b. 1900, d.?) and LeRoy Anthony (b. 1905, d. 1970) [17 p.73].
After the death of his father, Anthony opened his own shop separate from the family business that his brothers carried on. An interesting detail I found was that the shop was open until 9pm [23].
- 1897 - Shop opened (approx) at 1002 Olive Street [18]
- He carried Washburn instruments and sheet music
- 1908 - Shop moved to 920 Pine Street [19]
- 1917 - Shop moved to 1001 Pine Street (its final location) [20]
- The move was influenced by proximity to the "Piano Row" on Pine Street [21]
- Newspaper advertisements were looking for "secondhand musical instruments" and advertising repair services.
- 1940 - Anthony's son LeRoy wrote "manager" of a "retail music store" in his census occupation [22]
- 1944 - Anthony J Placht dies aged 77 [16]
L. Tony Placht
The only son of Anthony, LeRoy took over the shop after his father's death in 1944. Le Roy lived at 4020 Neosho Avenue, a little corner house near Bevo and Dutchtown. The trail unfortunately runs cold until 1959 when LeRoy advertised that he was out of work [19]. A true tragedy as he never could've known that America was on the cusp of a guitar craze which could've successfully carried him into the early 1970s. LeRoy died on January 8th, 1970 at the age of 69.
Influence
The Placht family was responsible for three generations worth of musical instruments being distributed, built, and repaired for St Louisans and the bi-state area. An impressive legacy that is often overshadowed by the larger firms of the day. Their storefronts have largely been redeveloped, demolished, or have now found themselves located in less than stellar neighborhoods due to the city's steep economic decline.
At the time of writing in January of 2021, I became introduced to the Placht family from a Regal "Jr Jumbo" guitar that I purchased near Washington University.
Broadway has been extensively redeveloped so Joseph's original building no longer exists. The J. Placht & Bro building on Delmar Boulevard is still standing. Pine Street has also been redeveloped but Tony's location at 1001 Pine still exists and is currently a bank. The building at 1002 Olive Street may also still be standing. Tony's home is still standing, sorta, but it is in an area of town that has been neglected b
Sources:
[1] https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/34325082:6742
[2] https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/1094334288:2469?tid=182251037&pid=312467779452&queryId=19d97c6b3060bb19874902796d1f383f&_phsrc=OTJ1515&_phstart=successSource
[3] https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/533983786:2469?tid=182251037&pid=312467779452&queryId=7262907cedb5ddeb19f45982f8add179&_phsrc=OTJ1516&_phstart=successSource
[4] https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/1097450104:2469?tid=182251037&pid=312467779452&queryId=7262907cedb5ddeb19f45982f8add179&_phsrc=OTJ1516&_phstart=successSource
[5] 1887 directory - https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/1094585013:2469?tid=182251037&pid=312467779452&queryId=7262907cedb5ddeb19f45982f8add179&_phsrc=OTJ1516&_phstart=successSource
[6] 1889 directory - https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/539134501:2469?tid=182251037&pid=312467779452&queryId=7262907cedb5ddeb19f45982f8add179&_phsrc=OTJ1516&_phstart=successSource
[7] https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/537481128:2469?tid=182251037&pid=312467779452&queryId=3e10a76d726bd6cf8406d363c029bd93&_phsrc=OTJ1518&_phstart=successSource
[8] https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/182251037/person/312467779452/hints
[9] https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C37H-6JMX?cc=3754697&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3ADD7N-Y2T2
[10] https://www.newspapers.com/image/138901007/
[11] https://mtr.arcade-museum.com/MTR-1916-63-18/37/
[12] https://mtr.arcade-museum.com/MTR-1925-81-3/35/
[13] https://presto.arcade-museum.com/PRESTO-1925-2019/22/
[14] https://mtr.arcade-museum.com/MTR-1925-80-10/29/
[15] https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C37H-6JMX?cc=3754697&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3ADD7N-Y2T
[16] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/47760342/tony-j-plach
[17] https://dnr.mo.gov/shpo/survey/SLCAS039-S.pdf
[18] https://mtr.arcade-museum.com/MTR-1897-25-3/21/
[19] https://www.newspapers.com/image/138901007/?terms=tony%20anthony%20joseph%20placht&match=1
[20] https://www.newspapers.com/image/138256321/?terms=tony%20placht&match=1
[21] https://mtr.arcade-museum.com/MTR-1914-59-2/36/
[22] https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89MB-18QQ?i=14&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AK74B-663
[23] https://www.newspapers.com/image/138241529/?terms=%22l.%20tony%20placht%22&match=1
[24] https://www.newspapers.com/image/570728186/?terms=%22tony%20placht%22&match=1
old sources, delete these after checking for duplicates
[1] https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YBV-2CW?i=1&cc=1417683&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AM6FJ-3CF
[2] http://genealogy.mohistory.org/genealogy/name/88198?a=1
[3] https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C37H-6JMX?cc=3754697&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3ADD7N-Y2T2
[4] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/47760342/tony-j-plach
[5] https://www.newspapers.com/image/138901007/
[6] https://www.newspapers.com/image/138901007/?terms=tony%20anthony%20joseph%20placht&match=1
[7] https://www.newspapers.com/image/572159460/?terms=tony%20placht&match=1
[8] https://www.newspapers.com/image/138256321/?terms=tony%20placht&match=1
[9] https://www.newspapers.com/image/573281652/?terms=tony%20placht&match=1
[10] https://mtr.arcade-museum.com/MTR-1908-47-2/index.php?page_no=38
[11] https://mtr.arcade-museum.com/MTR-1925-81-3/35/
[12] https://mtr.arcade-museum.com/MTR-1897-25-3/21/
[13] https://presto.arcade-museum.com/PRESTO-1925-2019/22/
[14] https://mtr.arcade-museum.com/MTR-1914-59-2/36/
[15] https://mtr.arcade-museum.com/MTR-1916-63-18/37/
[16] https://mtr.arcade-museum.com/MTR-1925-80-10/29/
[17] https://dnr.mo.gov/shpo/survey/SLCAS039-S.pdf
[18] https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89MB-18QQ?i=14&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AK74B-663
[19] https://www.newspapers.com/image/570728186/?terms=%22tony%20placht%22&match=1
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