Harmony was at one time the production king of American instruments, and during it’s heyday it accounted for over half the guitars built in this country each year. In 1892 Wilhelm J. F. Schultz purchased a two-room loft on the top floor of the Edison Building at Washington and Market Streets, later the site of Chicago’s Civic Opera House. He and four employees began production on a modest scale; the first Transaction was the sale of two guitars in 1892 to the Chicago Music Company. Schultz’s business grew fast and boasted 40 employees by 1894. In 1904 Schultz and crew settled into their own three-story, 30,000 square foot plant at 1738-1754 North Lawndale Avenue. A new wing was added in 1906 and by 1915 Harmony had a quarter of a million dollars in annual sales and 125 employees.

When the ukulele became popular following its introduction at the Hawaiian exhibit of the 1915 San Francisco Fair, Harmony became the first ( and for a time the only) large scale ukulele manufacturer. In 1916 Sears, Roebuck acquired Harmony in order to gain its substantial ukulele production. When World War I severed the industry’s German wood sources, Harmony became America’s only large- scale violin manufacturer. Harmony also made mandolins, banjo ukuleles, tenor banjos, and other instruments and by 1923 its annual production capacity was 250,000 instruments.

Jay Kraus was appointed vice-president and in 1926 succeeded founder Wilhelm Schultz as Harmony’s president, and along with Fred Gretsch, Jr., Hank Kuhrmeyer of Kay, and others he ultimately became one of the great captains of the Chicago guitar manufacturing community of the 1930’s, 1940’s and 1950’s. Jay Kraus was one of the six men who met in 1947 to found the American Music Conference ( AMC ), and served as president of both that organization and NAMMM, forerunner of NAMM, or National Association of Music Merchants.

In February 1928 Harmony introduced its Roy Smeck Vita series-Standard, tenor, and plectrum guitars, all distinguished by their sound holes, which were shaped like seals ( the kind that bark and swim ). In January 1930 the Roy Smeck Grand Concert and Hawaiian models were unveiled. By the following year, Harmony claimed an awesome annual production capacity of 500,000 instruments. In March 1931 the Vagabond guitar line was first produced, and in the following September the Cremona professional guitar appeared; it became one of Harmony’s most respected arch-tops.

In May 1939 Harmony bought several brand names from the bankrupt Oscar Schmidt Company including La Scala, Stella and Sovereign; the latter two were used on many of Harmony’s most popular guitars. During this period Harmony substantially increased its trade names to include Valencia, Monterey, Harmony Deluxe, Johnny Marvin, Vogue, and many more.

In 1941 Harmony reportedly manufactured about 130,000 of the 250,000 American guitars produced each year. The music industry retail sales grew steadily through 1957, and Harmony was a primary benefactor of this growth.

From 1961 through 1969 Harmony continued to grow expanding to a plant of 132,000 square feet of manufacturing and warehouse space, and 600 employees. Then as imported instruments began taking a larger share of the American market, the company was purchased by a conglomerate along with some other companies. There was heavy indebtedness, and the factory equipment and other assets were sold at auction to satisfy the creditors and they finally liquidated.

Today, Harmony Guitars is owned by President Charlie Subecz. In 2008, Charlie decided the time was right to bring back the old Harmonys by re-launching a series of Vintage Re-issues. Fourteen meticulas recreations from the 1950's and 60's, including the Rocket, Bobkat, Meteor and more along with a signature Ritchie Valens classic.

Since 1892, The Harmony Guitar Company continues to keep a tradition of fine quality guitars.