By the end of the 19th century, they manufactured a wide range of musical instruments—including not only harps, but pianos, guitars, mandolins, banjos, ukuleles and various brass and other percussion instruments.

Company letters and trade catalogs don't provide exact dates that would reveal when Lyon & Healy began manufacturing instruments.

Clearly, Lyon & Healy was making fretted string instruments in the 1880s, with Washburn (guitars, mandolins, banjos, and zithers) as their premier line.

According to Vintage Guitar magazine, "Circa 1900, the firm was so large it manufactured under a host of sub-brands; Washburn is perhaps the most recognized, though Leland, Lakeside, and American Conservatory are still seen."

Some have compared the Lyon & Healy grand pianos to other high end brands of the time such as Steinway & Sons, Wm.

Healy wanted to develop a harp better suited to the rigors of the American climate than available European models.

Previously, most harps in North America were made by small groups of craftsmen in France, England, Ireland, or Italy.

Lyon & Healy produces one of the most ornate and elaborate harps in the world, the Louis XV, which includes carvings of leaves, flowers, scrolls, and shells along its neck and kneeblock, as well the soundboard edges.

In 1894 Robert J. Bennett came to Lyon & Healy from the Hutchings company of Boston to head their organ department.

The largest surviving Lyon & Healy pipe organ is at the Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica in Chicago.

However, In late 1920s, Lyon & Healy sold its brass musical instrument manufacturing branch (see "New Langwill Index").

Carlos Salzedo, the pre-eminent harpist, collaborated with Lyon & Healy on the design of their Art Nouveau model Style 11, still made today.

It's design is considered by experts to be a work of fine art, that utilizes light and shadow to give it additional dimension, as well as a distinct appearance.

There was an additional Washburn line of smaller, simpler pedal harps sold to many schools in the early 20th century.

Each model may differ slightly, as the column design has some effect on the projection of the sound waves generated by the instrument.

Much later, they introduced the Ogden, which is a bit smaller, but has 37 strings, and then the Prelude, which is considerably larger, and styled more like a pedal harp.

Lyon & Healy makes electric lever harps in nontraditional colors such as pink, green, blue, and red.