Aeolian crap

[Robin Hufford]

Hello Gordon,
     In 1907 Chickering and Knabe were merged, along with the interests
of some investors, into a larger unit called the American Piano
Company.  The two surviving Knabes who had sold their interest in Knabe
& Sons then formed a new company called Knabe Brothers.  It failed the
next year.
     During the twenty years or so from 1907 to c. 1929, American the
production of the Chickering remained at the factory in Boston and Knabe
similiarly in Baltimore.  Certain design features in common were imposed
progressively on the production of each unit.
     American's marketing strategy consisted, if memory serves, of
having three dealers per city.  Each dealer would chose a suite of three
piano lines.  This seems to imply that nine were available and I know
there were three price points available for the dealer to chose from.
They would take a line from each price point and compete against other
dealers, including the other American dealers to make the sale.
     In 1927 American experienced some sort of financial difficulties
and as a result of some kind of financial duress the President that had
run it for the previous 20 years, and I can't remember his name at the
moment, was forced out.  Somehow an interest in the company probably
through a cash infusion allowed Banker's Trust to take control of the
company.   They then named a new President who had no experience with
the piano industry.
     The subsequent demise of American is a well-studied example of poor
marketing and business practices and is considered a classic case.
Articles exist here and there on the course of these events.  If I
remember correctly the new President then allowed a dealer chosen by the
company in each city,  to take the three top piano lines rather than
forcing each dealer to take one line from each of the three price point
categories.  This had the effect of forcing the other, presumably, also
well established dealers to take what was left and sell, what in essence
that which they had competed against previously.  The end result,
coupled with an overall decline in sales generally, was a sudden decline
in cash flow and the company was forced into bankruptcy by, I believe,
the end of 1928 or 1929.
     At the end of bankruptcy proceedings in, I believe, 1929, or
perhaps, 1930, a new entity appeared, cash in hand, ready to rescue the
company.  This was Aeolian, probably still flush with cash from the
player piano market.   I believe,  as part of the reorganization
proceedings, or immediately thereafter,  the factories in Boston and
Baltimore were closed and production was moved to Rochester.  The new
company was the Aeolian-American which went into bankrupcty in 1985.
     American redesigned during this period Chickering and Knabe, while
maintaining a continuity of design features, and, as I said earlier,
while imposing certain design features in common on these and other
lines.   They produced some tremendous, great pianos.  For example the
Chickering 135, the 123, the 235, and the 141 concert grand.
      Aeolian, which then acquired Mason & Hamlin, closing their factory
and moving production to Rochester in 1934,  progressively lessened the
quality on these pianos, and others, mainly after WWII,  leading to what
we all have seen in their last gasp production of twenty years ago.
They did come up with some interesting pianos in the thirties, for
example the Chickering 147 ( a console) and the Knabe and M&H Butterfly
and Symetrigrands.  I don't believe Aeolian ever made pianos in the
original Chickering and Knabe factories as these factories were closed
as a result of the bankruptcy.      Anyway, there is a building in New
York called the American Piano Building, on 57th street.  At the top of
the building one can seen inlaid on a large scale in tile, the plate
decal we are all familiar with on the Chickering pianos of the period.
Regards. Robin Hufford



gordon stelter wrote:

> Yes. Aeolian and American merged in 1930, after
> Aeolian's factory burned. For many years operations
> were moved to American Piano's massive factories in
> East Rochester, New York, then spilled about the
> country in the 70's and 80's, as the Japanese
> onsluaght destroyed the American piano industry.
>      American had Chickering in their line since 1909.
>      Thump
>
> --- PatchWick@aol.com wrote:
> > I just got back from tuning a 'Jonas Chickering'
> > made in 1984. Was that also
> > an Aeolian name plate?
> >
> > will
> >
>
> __________________________________
> Do you Yahoo!?
> The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo.
> http://search.yahoo.com
> _______________________________________________
> pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives