Chickering
and Sons - (en)
Chickering and Sons was an American pianoforte 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.
Chickering was the largest piano manufacter in the United States in the
middle of the nineteenth century, but was surpassed in the 1860s by
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.
