Cincinnati Piano History

Cincinnati Piano History:
The First One Hundred Years
 
 
* 1821*          Dwight Hamilton Baldwin is born at Erie County,  Pennsylvania.
 
*1833*         Albert Krell is born at Gelbra, Germany. Krell comes from a family of musical instrument makers.
 
*1834*        John N. Britting is listed as  a piano maker at Canal Street in Cincinnati.
 
*1836*         Isaac Clark of Cincinnati is granted the first U.S. patent for a pianoforte design that describes an overstrung scale, preceding J. Goodwin's British patent by six days.
 
*1843*         The firm of Smith & Nixon is established at Cincinnati.
 
*1845*          Lucien Wulsin is born in Louisiana. His family moves to Cincinnati early in his childhood.
 
*1848*          Albert Krell immigrates to America.
 
*1849*          At the age of sixteen, Albert Krell moves to Cincinnati and starts a violin making and repair shop at the rear of a drugstore.
           
George Trayser, a native of Alsace, begins to make pianos and melodeons at Indianapolis, Indiana.
 
*1854*          Musical instrument maker Rudolph Wurlitzer, a native of Saxony, Germany, immigrates to New York City. Wurlitzer comes from a long line of musical instrument makers.
 
*1856*          Rudolph Wurlitzer moves to Cincinnati, where he establishes a musical instrument importing business. 
 
*1859*          John Church establishes a piano store at Cincinnati.
 
*1861*           Rudolph Wurlitzer begins to build pianos and other musical instruments in Cincinnati.
 
*1862*          Dwight Hamilton Baldwin, a piano teacher, establishes a piano store at Cincinnati, dealing in Decker Brothers’ Pianos of New York.  
 
*1864*          Lucien Wulsin joins the Union Army and serves until the Civil War’s end.
 
*1866*          Lucien Wulsin starts as a clerk at D.H. Baldwin’s piano store.
 
*1865*          George Trayser begins building pianos at Ripley, Ohio.
                                  
*1869*          The Ohio Valley Piano Forte Company is incorporated on July 3 at Ripley, Ohio. Their pianos are sold under the name Valley Gem by D.H. Baldwin. The manufactory is located at Second Street between Sycamore and Locust Streets in Ripley.
 
*1872*          George Trayser moves to Richmond, Indiana and partners with James and Benjamin Starr.
 
*1873*          The firm name of D.H. Baldwin & Company is established with Lucien Wulsin admitted into the partnership. During  this decade they open up branch stores at Indianapolis,  Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky (1878).
 
*1876*          The Brown County Atlas notes that the Ohio Valley Piano Forte Company has produced over 1800 pianos since its establishment in 1869.
 
*1878*          Geroge Trayser retires and sells his company to Milo J.  Chase who changes the firm's name to the Chase Piano Company. 
 
*1882*          George W. Armstrong, Jr., Clarence Wulsin and J.J. Van Buren join the D.H. Baldwin partnership. D.H. Baldwin &  Co. is listed at 158 West Fourth in the Cincinnati Directory.
 
The Smith & Nixon Company is listed at 20 to 26 West Fourth Street in the  Cincinnati Directory. They later produce the Ebersole Piano and possibly the Knabe Bros.  Piano of Cincinnati.
 
*1883*          Frank A. Lee joins the John Church Company. John Church & Co. is listed at 66 West Fourth in the Cincinnati Directory.
 
*1884*          James and Benjamin Starr obtain control of the Chase Piano Company at Richmond, Indiana and found the Starr Piano Company.
 
*1885*          The Harvard Piano Company is established by John Church at Dayton, Kentucky. Church also is involved with the establishment of the Everett Piano Company in this same year.
 
*1889*          The Krell Piano Company is established at Cincinnati by Albert Krell and his two sons Albert and Alexander, who had studied piano making with the German-born master- builder George Steck at New York.

         
*1890*         The Baldwin Piano Company takes over manufacture of  Valley Gem Pianos.
  
*1893*          The Ellington Piano Company is established at Cincinnati and is soon acquired by Baldwin.
 
*1894*          Frank A. Lee becomes president of the Harvard Piano Company in Dayton, Kentucky (the Harvard company is also involved in music publishing).
 
*1895*          Death of Alexander Krell.
 
*1896*          Albert Krell, Jr.  joins Jesse French to form the Krell-French Piano Company at Springfield, Ohio. Krell-French later moves to New Castle, Indiana and becomes the Jesse French Company
 
*1899*          Death of D.H. Baldwin. He leaves most of his estate to the  Presbyterian Church.    Lucien Wulsin, in partnership with George W. Armstrong, buys up all shares of Baldwin stock and revives the company
 
*1900*         Death of Albert Krell, Sr.
 
At the Paris Exposition of 1900, the Baldwin Piano is awarded the Grand Prix and Lucien Wulsin is decorated with the Cross of the Legion of Honor.
 
*1905*         Albert Krell, Jr. leaves Krell-French to begin the Auto Grand Piano Company of America at Connersville,  Indiana.
 
*1909*         The Butler Bros. Piano Company is established in Cincinnati at 21-27 W. McMicken Avenue
 
*1910*          Butler Bros. acquires the Ebersole name from Smith & Nixon .
 
*1919*           Height of the popularity of the piano in the USA.  Fifty-seven piano tuners are listed in the Cincinnati Business Directory.
 
copyright 2005 Frank Renfrow

Frank Renfrow worked at the Baldwin Piano Company from 1976 until 1988
 

For a complete history of the Baldwin Piano Company go to:

https://www.baldwinpiano.com/history.html

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