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By virtue of the many mergers, Aeolian owned many brands, among them: Knabe, Peck, Cable, Mason & Hamlin, Cambridge, Musette, Chickering, Cabaret, Hardman, George Steck, Mason & Risch, Ivers & Pond, Kranich & Bach, Albert Weber, Conover, Winter, Wellington, Bradbury, J. (See separate entry.) In 1985, Aeolian went bankrupt. In 1929 (variously 1932), Aeolian bought American Piano Co. Tremaine subsumed a number of competitors. Meanwhile, Aeolian itself was making player pianos, coin-operated jukeboxes, and âautomated bandâ players. Aeolian-Skinner had a large number of huge installations in churches and at academic venues. Skinner to become Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company, a famous and very-highly regarded builder of church organs through the 1970s. The Great Depression left its mark, and the organ division was spun off to merge with E.M.
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The company did install a church organ at Duke University, however. They succeeded admirably the Aeolian was the home organ of choice.
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Competition for church organ installations was fierce at the time, so Aeolian decided to veer off to serve the various robber barons. Some of these were encased instruments (pipes housed within a box, on which was mounted the keyboard) and some were un-encased (pipes mounted on the wall with the keyboard as a separate console). Since the homes were quite large, they could easily accommodate a pipe organ, size-wise and acoustically. One desirable item for the home was a pipe organ. This was the time of manufacturing magnates, and they desired plenty of razzle-dazzle to parade their wealth. The company began by manufacturing reed organs, then âautomatingâ them. Meanwhile, in Europe, some of the most revered companies staunchly held on through World Wars I and II, while others were forced to close, either because of the lagging European economy or the loss of facilities to wartime devastation.īelow, in addition to comments on specific piano brands, you will find information on âstencil brands,â âgray market pianos,â factory locations, serial numbers, entry level pianos, types and dimensions, antique pianos, and whatâs important in making your selection.Īeolian: Company founded as âAeolian Organ Companyâ in 1887 by piano-builder William B. The recovery of the Asian economy, Japan in particular, helped fuel the return of piano manufacturing, again at attractive price points.
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Venerable piano brands reappeared, but nearly always made in a much poorer fashion in order to put them within reach of the average family. Parents wanted things for their children that they had never had â such as piano lessons. Bill to further their educations, family incomes began to rise. After the Second World War, when soldiers came home and took advantage of the G.I. The stock market crash of 1929 shook the foundations of the industry, and the Great Recession that followed nearly buried it. The fleuressence of American piano firms abated about 1920.
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