Weber Piano Company
Weber Piano logo from the early 1900s
|
|
| Private (subsidiary of Young Chang) | |
| Industry | Musical instruments |
| Founded | October 1, 1851 |
| Founder | Albert Weber, Sr. |
|
Number of locations
|
Worldwide authorized dealers and showrooms |
|
Area served
|
Worldwide |
| Products |
Grand pianos Upright pianos |
| Parent | Young Chang |
| Website | www |
The Weber Piano Company was a piano manufacturing company based in New York City and East Rochester, New York from the middle of the 19th century through the beginning of the 20th century, and continued as a division of Aeolian-American at East Rochester, New York until 1985, when Aeolian went out of business. The Weber name was then sold to Korean piano company Young Chang, which in turn sold the Weber name to Samsung Group in 1987. Young Chang remains responsible for manufacturing the pianos, which are sold in two product lines: Weber, with entry-level and mid-level pianos, and Albert Weber, with higher-level products.
The Weber Piano Company was founded in 1852 by Albert Weber (born: 8 July 1829, Heiligenstadt, Bavaria; died: 25 June 1879, New York). Weber emigrated to the United States at the age of 16, and while his first intent was to support himself by teaching music and playing the organ, he soon was employed first as an apprentice of Charles J. Holder, a piano builder, and then as a piano builder by the D.J. Van Winkle piano company. During this time, Weber supplemented his income by giving music lessons in the evenings, and by playing the organ in churches on Sundays. In 1851, he set up a small piano business on West Broadway and White Street, in Manhattan. On October 1, 1851, Weber completed his first piano, working with two assistants, and by the beginning of 1852, they had completed five additional pianos. In 1852, Weber moved to a larger facility at 103 W. Broadway & 28 Jones Street.
A fire destroyed Weber's Broadway workshop in 1854, but Weber stayed in the Manhattan area, moving to 103rd & 105 W. Broadway, and later to 155 W. Broadway. By 1864 Weber had achieved some success with the then-popular "square grand piano", and opened a larger factory nearby at 41 Wooster Street in Manhattan, and later expanded that facility several times. Between 1864 and 1869, Weber's pianos became popular in New York music circles. In 1869, Weber opened a large, luxurious showroom on 108 Fifth Avenue and 16th street in New York City. This was seen as a bold move by Weber's larger competitors, but it paid off, establishing the Weber brand as a premium product in the mind of customers. This new location became a "rendezvous of musical people" and Weber became wealthy. Weber's products were arguably some of the highest-quality pianos of their day, famous for fine materials and exacting attention to detail. Lacking a background in piano construction, Weber focused on proven methods of piano construction as opposed to innovative new ideas. Weber's pianos were also some of the most expensive of the day - the price of a Rococo Weber Grand Piano in 1874 was $1,400, approximately the cost of a large mansion.
...
Wikipedia