Oliver Ditson (1811-1888) was an American businessman and founder of Oliver Ditson and Company, one of the major music publishing houses of the late 19th century. Ditson began his business with Samuel H. Parker as the Parker and Ditson company in Boston, Massachusetts, then bought Parker out in 1842, acquiring the Oliver Ditson and Company moniker in 1857 when he began collaborating with John C. Haynes on what would become the John C. Haynes & Co..
Ditson's company published the first American edition of Haydn's The Creation, "Jingle Bells" and "Darling Nelly Gray", as well as most of the works of the Hutchinson Family - though Ditson refused to publish "Get Off the Track" due to its abolitionist sentiment.
In 1858, Ditson purchased Dwight's Journal of Music, a serious musical journal.
During the American Civil War, Ditson released a number of popular songs, including "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "Tenting on the Old Camp Ground".
Theodore Presser purchased the Ditson catalogue in 1931.
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