Mason & hamlin restored grand piano model a serial #26716 circa 1915-1919, boston Founded in 1854, Mason & Hamlin is one of America’s oldest and most respected piano manufacturers. Of the hundreds of American piano companies that flourished in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Mason & Hamlin is one of only a handful that survive today. My church ordered a Mason-Hamlin Organ Style 525, Serial Number 203060 around 1897 at a cost of $460.00. I am so curious as to what it looked like; stops, manuals, etc. Would you know how I could secure an organ catalog as I know they published sales catalogs of what was known as cabinet organs, etc., for parlors and churches.

Mason & HamlinCen tech digital multimeter manual. is a piano manufacturer based in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1854, they also manufactured a large number of pump organs during the 19th century.

History[edit]

19th century[edit]

Mason & Hamlin was founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1854 by Henry Mason, son of Lowell Mason, the American hymn composer and musical educator, and Emmons Hamlin, a mechanic and inventor who had worked for melodeon makers Prince & Co. in Buffalo, New York.^[1]

They originally manufactured only melodeons,^[2] but in 1855 introduced the organ-harmonium or flat-topped cabinet organ. This design placed the bellows vertically and underneath the reeds, and served as the model for the suction operated American-style reed organ.^[3] By the early 1870s they were considered the largest and most important manufacturer of reed organs, employing about 500 and producing as many as 200 instruments a week.^[1] Mason & Hamlin supplied organs to several prominent composers, notably Franz Liszt, whose name the company applied to their patented selective sustain mechanism for organs comparable to the sostenuto in pianos.^[3]

Mason & Hamlin began manufacturing pianos in 1883. Initially they built only upright pianos featuring a patented method of tuning and maintaining string tension which they marketed as the screw stringer and intended as an improvement over the traditional system with tuning pins.^[4] In 1895, the piano department was completely reorganized by Richard W. Gertz, an independent piano designer from Germany who had created new scales for them earlier that year. Gertz was elected secretary of the company in 1903, and president in 1906,^[5] and had patented the company's Tension Resonator, a device fastened to the perimeter of the wooden structure of pianos meant to prevent their sounding boards from flattening. This was first included in their grands in 1900. The firm advertises that it is currently used in all Mason & Hamlin pianos.^[6]

20th century[edit]

By the turn of the 20th century, the Golden Age of the Piano was in full force and the most illustrious concert artists of the day aligned themselves with piano manufacturers including Sergei Rachmaninoff^[7] whose 1924 recording of his Second Piano Concerto was made using a Mason & Hamlin. Composer Maurice Ravel said of Mason & Hamlin pianos, 'While preserving all the qualities of the percussion instrument, the Mason & Hamlin pianoforte also serves magnificently the composer's concept by its extensive range in dynamics, as well as quality of tone. Quikquak upstereo with keygen download. It is not short of being a small orchestra. In my opinion, the Mason & Hamlin is a real work of art.'^[7]

The Cable Company, a Chicago piano manufacturing company, owned an interest in Mason & Hamlin from 1904 to 1924,^[8] when it was sold to the American Piano Company.^[9] Mason & Hamlin's role in this company was later described as the 'artist's' brand among the firm's premier lines which included Chickering and Sons ('family use') and Wm. Knabe & Co. ('Metropolitan Opera's favorite').^[10] American's sales began to decline in 1928,^[11] and following its collapse in the wake of the stock market collapse in late 1929, Mason & Hamlin's trademark, inventory and equipment were sold to American's competitor Aeolian for $450,000 while the factory buildings were sold off separately by the end of the following year.^[9] In 1932 it became part of Aeolian-American when the two companies merged, which consolidated the control of more than twenty brands of pianos;^[10] Mason & Hamlin, which had been at the former Hallet, Davis & Company piano factory in Neponset, Massachusetts, was moved to a separate plant at the Aeolian-American complex in East Rochester, New York at this time.^[8] During this time the company began sponsoring the Mason and Hamlin Prize piano competition.

Piano manufacturing ceased in the United States in 1942 under authority of the War Production Board due to the Second World War, and Mason & Hamlin production shifted to military gliders.^[12] Ownership of Mason & Hamlin changed hands several times during the post-war era, becoming part of the Sohmer piano company in 1985. Over the decades, the designs of the pianos were altered to the extent that they had little in common with the 'classic' Mason & Hamlin pianos of the pre-Depression era^{[citation needed]}.

In 1989, Seattle businessman Bernard 'Bud' Greer purchased the Sohmer company, which also held the George Steck, Knabe, and Mason & Hamlin names, technical specifications, and manufacturing equipment. He moved these to a piano factory in Haverhill, Massachusetts, which he had recently purchased from piano manufacturer Santi Falcone—from whom he also purchased the Falcone manufacturing specifications and naming rights. He named the new enterprise the Mason & Hamlin Companies. Greer's goal was to resurrect the Mason & Hamlin pianos of the pre-Depression era by returning to the original specifications—including Gertz's scale designs—and use of materials. A few changes were made, including the use of Renner action parts and slightly longer keys. From 1990 to 1994, approximately 600 pianos were manufactured, mostly Model A and BB grands, along with a few Model 50 uprights. Greer sold the company in 1995 to Premier Pianos, which continued production at a reduced pace until selling the company in 1996.

Today[edit]

In 1996, Mason & Hamlin was acquired by Burgett, Inc., which also owns PianoDisc, a maker of reproducing piano systems of the same name.^[13] Mason & Hamlin pianos are still manufactured in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and distributed throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia. Mason & Hamlin is a member of NAMM, the International Music Products Association and Piano Manufacturers Association International.^[12]

Each Mason & Hamlin piano includes a Tension Resonator, which is a system of steel rods under moderate tension, anchored to the wooden structure on the opposite side of the sounding board from the strings and iron frame. In grand pianos these rods fan out from one or two central hubs and are attached at intervals around the rim and to the belly rail; the model 50 upright has a rod stretched between the case sides. The manufacturer claims that this adds strength and rigidity to the rim by locking the rim into its permanent shape and which in turn preserves the 'crown' of the soundboard. ^[14]

Models[edit]

Grand pianos[edit]

Current Grand Piano Models:^{[15][16][17][18]}

• Mason & Hamlin
  • CC: 9ft 4in (284.48 cm)
  • BB: 6ft 11.5in (212.09 cm
  • AA: 6ft 4in (193.04 cm)
  • A: 5ft 8.5in (174 cm)
  • B: 5ft 4in (162.56 cm)
• VX Series
  • VX Series CC: 9ft 4in (284.5 cm)

• Artist Series
  • MHA-188G: 6ft 4in (193.04 cm)
  • MHA-160G: 5ft 3in (160.02 cm)
• Classic Series
  • MHC-160G: 5ft 6in (167.64 cm)
  • MHC-150G: 4ft 11in (149.86 cm)

Upright pianos[edit]

Current Upright Piano Models:^[15][17][18]

• Mason & Hamlin
  • Model 50
• Artist Series
  • MHA 131U: 51in (129.54 cm)
  • MHA 123U: 48in (121.92 cm)
• Classic Series
  • MHC 120U: 47in (119.38 cm)

Mason And Hamlin Serial Numbers Lookup

References[edit]

1. ^ ^ab'Cabinet and Parlor Organs' The Great Industries of the United States J. Burr & Hyde, Hartford. 1872 pp.109-121
2. ^Samuel Atkins Eliot A History of Cambridge, Massachusetts The Cambridge Tribune, Cambridge MA 1913. p.297-298
3. ^ ^abRobert F. GellermanThe American Reed Organ and the Harmonium The Vestal Press, New York. 1996. p.19
4. ^'Improved Upright Pianos' The Manufacturer and Builder vol.16, no. 12, December 1884 pp.282-283
5. ^Alfred Dolge Pianos and their Makers vol.2, Covina Publishing Company, Covina CA. 1913. pp.144-150
6. ^Piano SpecificationsArchived 2008-10-15 at the Wayback Machine Mason & Hamlin website (accessed October 11, 2008)^{[failed verification]}
7. ^ ^ab'History'Archived 2007-06-03 at the Wayback Machine, Mason & Hamlin Official Website, 2007. Accessed June 2, 2007.^{[failed verification]}
8. ^ ^abChristine Merrick Ayars Contributions to the Art of Music in America by the Music Industries of Boston The H. H. Wilson Company, New York 1937. p.127
9. ^ ^ab'The American Piano Company'Archived 2010-11-22 at the Wayback MachineHarvard Business School case study, 1934, reproduced in the AMICA Bulletin and available from the Pianola Society
10. ^ ^ab'Deals and Developments' Time Magazine August 8, 1932(subscription required)
11. ^'Piano Glissando' Time Magazine, December 30, 1929(subscription required)
12. ^ ^ab'Mason & Hamlin', Grove Music Online, 2007. Accessed June 2, 2007. (subscription required)
13. ^'PianoDisc'. Retrieved 2012-07-09.^{[failed verification]}
14. ^Fine, Larry. The Piano Book. ISBN1-929145-02-0 Brookside Press
15. ^ ^ab'Mason & Hamlin • Mason & Hamlin Piano Company'. Mason & Hamlin Piano Company. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
16. ^'VX Series • Mason & Hamlin Piano Company'. Mason & Hamlin Piano Company. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
17. ^ ^ab'Artist Series • Mason & Hamlin Piano Company'. Mason & Hamlin Piano Company. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
18. ^ ^ab'Classic Series • Mason & Hamlin Piano Company'. Mason & Hamlin Piano Company. Retrieved 2020-12-11.

External links[edit]

This is just about all the information that’s survived the passing of time on the Mason & Hamlin Organ Co.

The company was located on Cambridge St., then 277 Washington St., then 134 Tremont St., Boston, MA 1854-1888. The company was renamed Mason & Hamlin Organ & Piano Co. in 1888. It was founded by Henry Mason and Emmons Hamlin with funds provided by Oliver Ditson and Henry's father, Lowell Mason.

They built about 450 organs per year from 1855-1861. Factory capacity was 10,000 organs per year by 1902. In 1905 Mason & Hamlin made a contract with Alphonse Mustel in which he would make his home in Boston and supervise the manufacture of Mustel Harmoniums by Mason & Hamlin.

Mason And Hamlin Pump Organ Serial Numbers

While it is uncertain that Mustel ever went to Boston, twenty-five years earlier Mason & Hamlin had produced their 'Orchestral' organ which had pressure bellows, expression, percussion action and the same specifications as a Mustel harmonium. Mason & Hamlin was acquired by The Cable Co. in 1911, which which was acquired by American Piano Co. in 1924. Reed organ production ended in 1927.

Serial numbers (probably a combination of case and action numbers):
1856 - 596 1874 - 24001 1890 - 103200
1859 - 1946 1876 - 34435 1892 - 112000
1861 - 2600 1876 - 80204 1894 - 117000
1863 - 3503 1880 - 45927 1899 - 212377
1865 - 5050 1881 - 50000 1900 - 214191
1866 - 6810 1883 - 58900 1903 - 223506
1867 - 8541 1885 - 73000 1904 - 225174
1870 - 10000 1886 - 77027 1906 - 229269
1871 - 11110 1887 - 81000 1916 - 239552
1872 - 12219 1888 - 86000 1918 – 24009
1873 - 17000 1890 - 103200
Out of sequence: 1859 - 3431, 1863 - 10933, 1867 - 15971, 1869 - 17493, 1872 - 63058, 1875 - 80607, 1875 - 83947,1876 - 86732, 1877 - 94767, 1880 - 117936, 1881 - 118300, 1884 - 25163, 1886 - 160920, 1887 - 170987, 1893 -194980, 1894 - 240043
Catalogs and other sources give the following cumulative production quantities:
1873 - 100000 1878 - 100000 1884 - 150000
1875 - 80000 1880 - 102817 1889 – 175000

Mason Hamlin Piano 1932

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