Early Life
Ed Link, age 14
Edwin A. Link, Jr., was born in 1904 in Huntington, Indiana, second son to Katherine and Edwin Link. When Ed was six years old, his father was appointed to a position at the Automatic Music Company in Binghamton, New York, to save the struggling business. The Link family moved to Binghamton where Ed would soon discover opportunities to hone his mechanical talents. Several years later, the senior Link would file for his own business: the Link Piano and Organ Company, Ed's eventual and simultaneous proving ground and playground.
Ed Link's drawing of a submarine, age 12
Growing up, Ed rarely felt satisfied with standard academic work. Although Link was highly intelligent and extremely creative, Link drifted between various traditional and trade schools. Ed's older brother, Theron, had followed in their father's footsteps, and Ed Link, Sr. expected his youngest son to do the same - but Ed was more interested in working with his hands than sitting behind a desk. After a short tour of Europe at his mother's side, and attempting one last time to rally for a traditional education, he finally dropped out of Binghamton High School in 1922 to work at his father’s company.
Edwin A. Link, Sr.
Katherine Martin Link
Ed Link working with a pipe organ. Even later in life, Ed continued to tinker with the pianos and organs that began his career.
Link Company Employees, c. 1926