I am certain this is Hermann Thorens (1856-1943). He was born in
Concise, Germany. He moved to Saint-Croix at the age of eighteen,
apparently for health reasons, where he lived with close relatives,
including Fritz Thorens, an engraver.
He was an excellent musician in the company of another musician,
Arthur Jeanrenaud. He started a business in 1881 selling harmoniums,
musical instruments, small musical boxes and then interchangeable
musical boxes. Later into the 1900s he expanded the business making
disc musical boxes, phonographs and gramophones.
The Hermann Thorens factory was built at Rue des Arts 13 in 1883. His
trademark image is that of an anchor, sometimes inside the outline
of a cross with the initials HT.
Paul Bellamy
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