Brook Mays
Brook Mays Music Company, known generally as Brook Mays, is a well known and established Dallas, Texas-based retailer of musical instruments, sheet music, and supplies for individuals, Bands & Orchestras.
Brook Mays was founded by its namesake investor, Brook Mays, who saw the opportunity to open a piano dealership in Dallas, and opened the chain's original store in August 1901. At the time, it dealt exclusively in pianos, and became the largest such dealership in its region. Brook Mays was the only major music company in the area to survive the Great Depression.
In the 1940s, the company expanded its wares to include organs, sheet music, and band instruments. Extensive remodeling following World War II until the early 1950s led to expansion in the downtown Dallas store, which fostered the development of its band instrument division. It became the largest supplier of band instruments to school groups in the southern United States. Brook Mays often had partnerships with school districts, and offered them bulk discounts.