 By 1862, Steinway pianos had received more than 35 medals.Part of Steinway's early reputation arose from its successes in trade fairs.In 1865, the Steinway family sent a letter to C. F. Theodor Steinweg asking that he leave the German Steinweg factory (by now located in Braunschweig (Brunswick)) and travel to New York City to take over the leadership of the family firm due to the deaths of his brothers Henry and Charles from disease.