Mason and Hamlin
Encyclopedia
Mason & Hamlin is a piano
manufacturer based in Haverhill, Massachusetts
.
, 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
.
They originally manufactured only melodeons, 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
. 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. 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.
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. 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, 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.
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. It is not short of being a small orchestra. In my opinion, the Mason & Hamlin is a real work of art.” Many piano aficionados today prize Mason & Hamlins made during this period.
The Cable Company, a Chicago piano manufacturing company, owned an interest in Mason & Hamlin from 1904 to 1924, when it was sold to the American Piano Company. Mason & Hamlin's role in this company was later described as the "artists"' brand among the firm's premier lines which included Chickering and Sons
("family use") and Wm. Knabe & Co. ("Metropolitan Opera's favorite"). American's sales began to decline in 1928, 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. In 1932 it became part of Aeolian-American when the two companies merged, which consolidated the control of more than twenty brands of pianos; 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.
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. 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.
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 1990-1994, approximately 600 pianos were manufactured, mostly Model A and BB grands, along with a few Model 50 uprights. Greer filed for bankruptcy in 1996. In 1995, Premier Pianos took over operations at the Haverhill factory, with a skeleton crew
completing several pianos.
The A and BB Models are also available as part of the Monticello Art Case Collection. The company also offers one upright piano model, the 50" tall Model 50. All Mason and Hamlin pianos come with a 12 year warranty.
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
manufacturer based in Haverhill, Massachusetts
Haverhill, Massachusetts
Haverhill is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 60,879 at the 2010 census.Located on the Merrimack River, it began as a farming community that would evolve into an important industrial center, beginning with sawmills and gristmills run by water power. In the...
.
The nineteenth century
Mason & Hamlin was founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1854 by Henry Mason, son of Lowell MasonLowell Mason
Lowell Mason was a leading figure in American church music, the composer of over 1600 hymn tunes, many of which are often sung today. His most well-known tunes include Mary Had A Little Lamb and the arrangement of Joy to the World...
, the American hymn composer and musical educator, and Emmons Hamlin, a mechanic and inventor who had worked for melodeon
Melodeon (organ)
A melodeon is a type of 19th century reed organ with a foot-operated vacuum bellows, and a piano keyboard. It differs from the related harmonium, which uses a pressure bellows. Melodeons were manufactured in the United States sometime after 1812 until the Civil War era...
makers Prince & Co. in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
.
They originally manufactured only melodeons, 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
Reed organ
A reed organ, also called a parlor organ, pump organ, cabinet organ, cottage organ, is an organ that generates its sounds using free metal reeds...
. 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. Mason & Hamlin supplied organs to several prominent composers, notably Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
, whose name the company applied to their patented selective sustain mechanism for organs comparable to the sostenuto in pianos.
The twentieth century
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 RachmaninoffSergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
whose 1924 recording of his Second Piano Concerto was made using a Mason & Hamlin. Composer Maurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
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. It is not short of being a small orchestra. In my opinion, the Mason & Hamlin is a real work of art.” Many piano aficionados today prize Mason & Hamlins made during this period.
The Cable Company, a Chicago piano manufacturing company, owned an interest in Mason & Hamlin from 1904 to 1924, when it was sold to the American Piano Company. Mason & Hamlin's role in this company was later described as the "artists"' brand among the firm's premier lines which included Chickering and Sons
Chickering and Sons
Chickering and Sons was an American piano manufacturer located in Boston, known for producing award-winning instruments of superb quality and design. The company was founded in 1823 by Jonas Chickering and James Stewart, but the partnership dissolved four years later...
("family use") and Wm. Knabe & Co. ("Metropolitan Opera's favorite"). American's sales began to decline in 1928, 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
Aeolian Company
The Æolian Company was a manufacturer of player organs and pianos.- History :It was founded by New York City piano maker William B. Tremaine as the Æolian Organ & Music Co. to make automatic organs, and, after 1895, as the Æolian Co. automatic pianos as well. The Æolian Company was a...
for $450,000 while the factory buildings were sold off separately by the end of the following year. In 1932 it became part of Aeolian-American when the two companies merged, which consolidated the control of more than twenty brands of pianos; Mason & Hamlin, which had been at the former Hallet, Davis & Company piano factory in Neponset, Massachusetts
Neponset, Massachusetts
Neponset, Massachusetts is a district in the southeast corner of Dorchester, Massachusetts which is the most populous neighborhood of Boston....
, was moved to a separate plant at the Aeolian-American complex in East Rochester, New York
East Rochester, New York
East Rochester is a coterminous town and village located southeast of the City of Rochester in Monroe County, New York. The village, home to about 6,587 people, is bounded by Pittsford to the west and south and Perinton to the north and east. The southern boundary is delimited by New York State...
at this time.
Piano manufacturing ceased in the United States in 1942 under authority of the War Production Board
War Production Board
The War Production Board was established as a government agency on January 16, 1942 by executive order of Franklin D. Roosevelt.The purpose of the board was to regulate the production and allocation of materials and fuel during World War II in the United States...
due to the Second World War, and Mason & Hamlin production shifted to military gliders. 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.
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 1990-1994, approximately 600 pianos were manufactured, mostly Model A and BB grands, along with a few Model 50 uprights. Greer filed for bankruptcy in 1996. In 1995, Premier Pianos took over operations at the Haverhill factory, with a skeleton crew
Skeleton crew
A skeleton crew is the minimum number of personnel needed to operate and maintain an item at its most simple operating requirements, such as a ship or business, during an emergency and, at the same time, to keep vital functions operating.- Uses :...
completing several pianos.
Today
In 1996, Mason & Hamlin was acquired by Burgett, Inc., which also owns PianoDisc, a maker of reproducing piano systems of the same name. 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 PMAI (Piano Manufacturers Association International).Tension Resonator
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. In addition to preserving soundboard crown, it is likely that the added rigidity and strength imparted by the Tension Resonator to the rim has a more immediate effect of improving the rim's ability to reflect sound back into the soundboard, increasing the power and sustain of the piano. Technicians have reported that even old Mason & Hamlin pianos retain their crown.Current Models
| Model | Dimensions | Finishes |
|---|---|---|
| Model-50 Vertical |
|
|
| A |
|
|
| AA |
|
Mahogany
|
| B |
|
|
| BB |
|
|
| CC-94 |
|
|
The A and BB Models are also available as part of the Monticello Art Case Collection. The company also offers one upright piano model, the 50" tall Model 50. All Mason and Hamlin pianos come with a 12 year warranty.
Further reading
- "Mason & Hamlin Organ and Piano Co." Illustrated Boston, the metropolis of New England. 1889 Google books
- "Edward P. Mason." Massachusetts of Today: A Memorial of the State, Historical and Biographical, Issued for the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago. Columbia Publishing Company, 1892. Google books
- Mason and Hamlin PrizeMason and Hamlin PrizeThe Mason and Hamlin Prize was a coveted national piano competition, sponsored by Mason and Hamlin that awarded a Mason and Hamlin grand piano. The competition is held annually in Jordan Hall, New England Conservatory.- Winners :* 1910 – Julius Chaloff...
External links
- Mason & Hamlin Website
- Mason & Hamlin Canada Website
- http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?832737
- Library of Congress. Six Morceaux, composed expressly for the Mason & Hamlin Cabinet Organ by L.H. Southard, 1864
- Library of Congress. Photo of Fifth Avenue at W. Thirty-first Street, New York, N.Y., "Mason & Hamlin Co." on building at right. ca.1900-1915
- Flickr. Wedding photo with Mason & Hamlin organ, 19th c.
- Flickr. Photo of historic marker in Cambridge, Mass.