Virtually nothing is known about Edward J. Abram other than those bare facts which can be gleaned from the cover of the original sheet music. That is to say that his
Madison Square March was published by
M. Witmark and Sons and that Abram dedicated this piece to a certain Miss Mabel Morrison. This in turn implies that Edward J. Abram is a real name and not a pseudonym, an oft used device in the ragtime era. He is also given as the composer of a piece called
If this be Love.
Since writing the above in April, 2004, a little more information has turned up. During a recent (August, 2010) Internet search a number of his compositions listed at the Amazons and an intriguing article published by The New York Times on August 19, 1897 have been found. From the article we learn that Edward J. Abram was an associate of a certain Lewis Morrison, theatrical manager of the Star Theater, New York. Here they were involved in litigation going all the way to the Supreme Court whereby they allegedly did not meet contractual obligations concerning the staging of an expensive production, The Privateer written by Harrison Grey Fiske.