The Petosa Accordion Company, started in 1922 by Carlo Petosa (1892-1959) in Seattle, is the only U.S.-owned-and-operated accordion manufacturer.
Carlo Petosa built a reputation for crafting his instruments by hand, one at a time, with a dedication to precision and the highest-quality materials. That commitment to quality continued through three subsequent generations: son Joseph G. (1925-2005), grandson Joseph M. Jr. (b. 1960), and great-grandson Joseph III.
As a young boy in Italy, Carlo Petosa fell in love with the accordion. He immigrated to the United States during his teenage years, working at one point as an accordionist on the vaudeville circuit. In 1914, he apprenticed at San Francisco’s Guerrini Accordion Company, learning every facet of accordion manufacturing.
After moving to Seattle in 1922, he opened Petosa Accordions in the basement of his home. For the first half of the twentieth century, San Francisco was a national leader in the accordion industry with eight accordion manufacturers, including Galleazzi & Sons, Colombo & Sons, and the Guerrini Company. In business from 1903 to 1968, Guerrini developed many refinements in the instrument’s size, weight, and sound.
The Petosa Company won several patents for the instrument, including one for a built-in sound chamber that improves resonance. The invention was exhibited in 1953 at the National Association of Music Merchants meeting in Chicago.
The shop remained in Seattle’s Fremont and Wallingford neighborhoods for 95 years, the last 62 in the same location, weathering the ups and downs of the accordion industry. In 2018, Petosa Accordions moved to Lynnwood in Snohomish County.
According to historylink.org; petosa.com. Source of photos: internet
