on May 31, 2023
Nice antique with near perfect ivory keys. If you care to have a fancy antique spinet then you can’t do better than an Acrosonic.
The story of “America’s Favorite Piano” begins with a music teacher named Dwight Hamilton Baldwin (1821 – 1899). The piano manufacturer started his career as a music teacher specializing in the piano, organ, and violin.
In 1862 he opened his first piano dealership in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Enjoying success in their earlier years, Baldwin would create the Baldwin Company, which quickly became one of the largest piano dealers. By the 1890s, the Baldwin Company had grown to dominate the Mid-Western United States market, and Baldwin vowed to create “the best piano that could be built.”
He formed two manufacturing companies, one of them being Baldwin Piano Company’s household name, specializing in pianos. They started selling their first upright pianos in 1891. and introduced their first grand piano in 1895.
Things would start to ramp up in the 20th century. The Baldwin Company won several awards: the first at Exposition Universelle in Paris and another at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1914. The business was in full flow by 1913; the company was exporting to 32 countries and held many retailers across the United States.
Despite global challenges such as the Great Depression and World War Two, Baldwin Company managed to get by.
They’re not the only piano company to survive this period. To learn about others, check out A Complete Piano History.
