George E. Blake

Who was George E. Blake?

George E. Blake was an American music engraver and publisher. He was born in Yorkshire, England and, according to his obituary in the Philadelphia Evening Telegraph, emigrated to the United States when he was sixteen. Other sources disagree on the exact year he arrived in America. What is clear though is that by 1793, he began teaching the flute and the clarinet in Philadelphia, operating out of a room above the shop of music publisher John Aitken on South Third Street. During this period, the city was being ravaged by an outbreak of yellow fever. Unlike many others, Blake chose to stay instead of fleeing the city. He remained in Philadelphia for the rest of his long life.