The Pearl Queen brand was manufactured for retailers (Otto) Georgi & (Louis) Vitak and later, (Louis) Vitak & (Joseph) Elsnic. Patek concertinas were manufactured for Rudy Patek and sold by him and various other retailers throughout the Midwest, mostly during the 1920s through the 1950s. The start of World War I put an end to the import activity, which is what really prompted them to begin the manufacture of instruments in the United States. Prior to making their own instruments, Georgi would import concertinas from Friedrich Lange (Lange Concertina) in Chemnitz, Germany and sell them in the United States. In 1902 he partnered with Louis Vitak to sell concertinas and sheet music from their store in Chicago, and hired Otto Schlicht and his associates to produce chemnitzer concertinas in the United States under the Pearl Queen brand name.
In 1880, Otto Georgi emigrated from Chemnitz, Germany to Chicago, Illinois where he played, taught, promoted, imported and published music for the chemnitzer concertina.
