Francis, Day & Hunter

Music publisher founded in 1877 by William & James Francis and David Day (as W & J Francis and Day, then Francis Brothers & Day). Also appears as : - FdH - FDH - FD.H. - F.D.H. - F. D. H. - FD&H - FD & H - F.D.&H. - F. D. & H - F. D. & H. - F., D. & H. - F. D. & Hunter - F. Day & Hunter - Francis Day and Hunter - Francis Day and Hunter Music - Francis Day and Hunger - Francis-Day + Hunter Day had experience in music publishing and the Francis brothers needed a publisher for their songs. Harry Hunter joined in 1880, and the present name was coined. Starting out in Oxford St., they moved to Charing Cross Rd. in 1897, becoming the first of the popular music publishers in what became London's 'Tin Pan Alley'. About 1900 David Day formed the Musical Copyright Association and was at the forefront of the battle against the sheet music piracy rampant at the time. Offices were opened in New York (1905), Paris (1920) and Berlin (1928). After World War I Francis, Day & Hunter became one of the most important publishers of educational, classical and popular music in Great Britain, a fact attested to by the abundance of their stamps. Legally incorporated as Francis, Day & Hunter Ltd., 11th Feb 1925. In 1945, the firm bought out the catalogue of B. Feldman & Co, and in 1974 became a subsidiary of EMI Music Publishing Ltd., but exists as a separate entity to the present day.