Chickering and Sons
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chickering and Sons was an American piano manufacturer located in Boston, known for producing award-winning instruments of superb quality and design. The company was founded in 1823 by Jonas Chickering and produced its first piano that year. Chickering pianos continued to be made until 1983.
Jonas Chickering made several major contributions to the development of piano technology, most notably by introducing a one-piece, cast-iron plate to support the greater string tension of larger grand pianos.
By the mid-1800s, the Chickering piano was second in American sales only to Steinway. In 1867, Jonas's son Frank Chickering had the Imperial Cross of the Legion of Honour, then one of the world's most prestigious non-military awards, bestowed upon him by Emperor Napoleon III for services to the art of music, one of more than 200 awards the piano manufacturer garnered over the years.
The Chickering name continues to be applied to new pianos today, as a brand name of Baldwin Piano.
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Chickering was an innovator in piano technology with numerous patents including the cast iron steel frame for grand pianos which allowed then to use heavier piano wire and thus produce more power. Also Chickering patented the overstrung scale for grand pianos. Some of the great pianists preferred them to Steinways, including Franz Liszt, who owned two Chickering grands. His 1867 Chickering grand is currently on display at the Liszt Museum in Budapest.
In addition to being among the finest musical instruments ever made, Chickerings are often highly valued as collector's items due to their historical nature. Chickering is the oldest piano company in America, dating back to 1823. For much of the 19th and early 20th centuries Chickering and Steinway were rivals and dominated the world market. Chickering pianos were always held in the highest regard in the U.S. and around the world. President Lincoln had two Chickerings in the White House which he was quite fond of and other U.S. Presidents have preferred Chickerings as well.
Chickering Pianos cost much more to make then Steinway and much of the modern pianos today owe a debt to Chickering for their innovations to pianos.
