Mason and Hamlin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mason and Hamlin, one of the earliest American piano manufacturing companies, was founded by Henry Mason and Emmons Hamlin in Boston in 1854. Mason was the son of Lowell Mason, the famous American hymn composer and musical educator. Members of the Mason family were among the pilgrims who arrived on the Mayflower. Emmons Hamlin was a talented mechanic and inventor.

Originally a maker of reed organs, Mason & Hamlin began making pianos in 1882. Among the company’s engineers was Richard W. Gertz, who contributed many innovations to the piano industry, including the Tension Resonator, a patented device that was designed to maintain the crown of the soundboard for the life of a piano. (Today’s Mason & Hamlin pianos continue to feature the Tension Resonator.)

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. Mason & Hamlin was at the forefront, and the great virtuosos performed regularly on Mason & Hamlin pianos. Sergei Rachmaninoff was an endorser of Mason & Hamlin, and his 1924 recording of his Second Piano Concerto was recorded on 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.”

In 1930, Mason & Hamlin became part of the giant Aeolian American Piano Company. World War II brought the American piano industry to a halt, since basic piano building materials like iron had to used for the war effort. Mason & Hamlin turned from making pianos to building airplane gliders. This continued until the end of the war. Beginning in 1945, Mason & Hamlin pianos were made in the Aeolian American plant in East Rochester, New York. Between 1983 and 1995, Mason & Hamlin changed ownership several times.

Since 1996, Mason & Hamlin has been a subsidiary of Burgett, Inc., which also owns PianoDisc, a maker of reproducing piano systems of the same name. Mason & Hamlin manufactures its pianos in Haverhill, Massachusetts and distributes them 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).