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A well made piano from a well known company is more than just a musical instrument in a home, hotel, restaurant, or bar. It is art, and oftentimes, the centerpiece of a large space where people frequent. One company in particular, Baldwin Pianos, made some of the best pianos around, as the largest U.S.-based manufacturer of pianos and other keyboard instruments. Many professional piano movers would immediately recognize a Baldwin, and admire its beauty and quality.

The story of Baldwin Pianos began in 1857, with a man named Dwight Hamilton Baldwin. Dwight was a violin, organ, and piano teacher in Cincinnati, Ohio. For 5 years, Dwight taught many people, until he decided to start a piano dealership selling Decker Pianos. In 1866, he hired a man named Lucien Wulsin as his clerk, who eventually became Dwight’s partner in the dealership. His company, which would be known as D.H. Baldwin & Company, would eventually become the largest piano dealer in the Midwestern U.S.

Soon, however, Dwight decided to build his own piano instead of sell other ones. His vow to create “the best piano that could be built” began with the Baldwin Piano Company, a production company dedicated to the creation of Baldwin’s pianos. Dwight’s first piano was an upright one, and was sold starting in 1891. 4 years later, the first Baldwin grand piano was unveiled.

Things were going well, but unfortunately, Dwight Baldwin passed away in 1899. Lucien Wulsin would purchase Dwight’s estate and continue the company’s piano manufacturing efforts. Over the next couple of decades, Baldwin Piano Company would win numerous accolades making Baldwin very popular all over the world, and by 1913, the company was exporting to 32 countries worldwide, on top of numerous retailers all over the country.

During the Great Depression, the company would experience financial turmoil, as pianos became unpopular. Lucien Wulsin II, then president of Baldwin, had planned for such troubles, however, as he had created a large reserve of funds. Because of this, the company was able to survive until the economy recovered.

When World War II came, Baldwin factories were refit to be used for the war effort. During this time, numerous methods in wood construction gave Baldwin new ideas and techniques in the creation of newer pianos when the war ended. After the conflict, many of the pianos created would be very popular, and the company would begin to expand once more, which included a new manufacturing plant in Arkansas.

In the 70′s, the company would begin a series of financial maneuvers in an effort to expand the company even further. However, things didn’t go as planned, and in 1983, the company was forced into bankruptcy. Under new management, the company would slowly and eventually regain success, peaking at 1998, when the manufacturing facility at Arkansas were building 2,200 grand pianos a year. When the turn of the century hit, however, the company had again filed for bankruptcy, and would eventually be a subsidiary of Gibson Guitar Corporation.

Today, as then, however, Baldwin pianos continue to be prized for their quality and beauty. Many modern artists have used, and continue to use Baldwin pianos, a testament to the brand’s legacy.

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