Mason & Hamlin

Mason & Hamlin is an American manufacturer of handcrafted grand and upright pianos, currently based in Haverhill, Massachusetts.

[4] By the early 1870s, they were considered the largest and most important manufacturer of reed organs, employing about 500 people and producing as many as 200 instruments a week.

[10] American positioned Mason & Hamlin as the "artist's brand" among the firm's premier lines, which also included Chickering and Sons ("family use") and Wm.

[11] Mason & Hamlin, which had been at the former Hallet, Davis & Company piano factory in Neponset, Massachusetts, was moved to a separate plant at the Aeolian-American complex in East Rochester, New York.

In 1989, Seattle businessman Bernard "Bud" Greer purchased the Sohmer company, which also held the George Steck, Knabe, and Mason & Hamlin names, technical specifications, and manufacturing equipment.

Greer's goal was to resurrect the Mason & Hamlin pianos of the pre-Depression era by returning to the original specifications—including Gertz's scale designs—and use of materials.

In 1996, Mason & Hamlin was acquired by Burgett, Inc., which also owns PianoDisc, a maker of reproducing piano systems of the same name.

[15][failed verification] Kirk Burgett, after taking control of Mason & Hamlin, had engineers digitally reconstruct blueprints of the company's high-quality pianos in the early 1900s, acquired decades-old specialized tools, and trained the first employees for two years, in order to produce pianos with a high level of craftsmanship like the offerings from the late 19th century and early 20th century.

1890 sketch of Mason & Hamlin Hall, Boston.
Mason & Hamlin trade card from the 19th century
An 1895 Mason & Hamlin Model 512 reed organ. Displayed above the keyboard are the various medals and awards won by the company at international exhibitions.
Detail of an 1894 Mason & Hamlin upright piano, showing the "screw stringer" apparatus.
Edward P. Mason, of Mason & Hamlin, 1892
Trade card, 19th century
1926 Mason and Hamlin Model RA 5'8" piano equipped with AMPICO reproducing player mechanism