Piano History

This past September my local chapter of The Piano Technicians Guild met at The Ithaca History Center to view the unique Ithaca Piano. This piano was located on the third floor of the Clinton House for many decades and was near total ruin. It was used to accompany silent films in the third floor auditorium back in the day. Here is a link to some photos and a short video:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/97132419@N02/albums/72157686825693251

Ed Swenson, retired music history professor at Ithaca College and piano technician, undertook the laborious restoration of this piano almost thirty years ago. Ed attended the meeting and providing us with the history of the Ithaca Organ & Piano Company. Ed credits former chapter member Robert Murphy for his valued assistance in the restoration. There was a contingent of foreign students at the Center that day and they were treated to some great piano music. Many thanks to Joe Pepper!

You can also see some pictures of the Ithaca Piano on Ed's website. Note the before photos of the action!

http://www.mozartpiano.com/en/gallery/

Ed mentioned that the upper front panel was missing on the piano. He replaced it with a panel that was appropriate for the period. Also note the last picture in the Flickr link: This is a photo of another Ithaca Piano with the original front upper panel.

On my Flickr photo album are two pictures from an article in the Ithaca Journal written in 1881. (The pictures of the article are hard to read so I have attached a pdf.) It covers the company's desire to produce a piano not only with a fully strung back but also a full second action in the back! There are no known survivors of this double action design. The article is full of hyperbole and wild statements but is a fun read. In my Flickr album you can see the patent for the double action. You can also see an advertisement by a piano dealer in Utica, NY. The picture in the ad is possibly one of these double action pianos.

Below is a link to a brief article about Henry Wegman - one of the founders of the company. Unfortunately the company only lasted a few years in Ithaca. Financing and other factors led the owners to relocate to Auburn, NY and a name change for the company. It is interesting to note that Henry worked at Steinway in 1882.

http://loganparklofts.com/wegman-piano-company/

Below is Henry Wegman's obituary:

http://mtr.arcade-museum.com/MTR-1894-19-14/MTR-1894-19-14-01.pdf

This past September my local chapter of The Piano Technicians Guild met at The Ithaca History Center to view the unique Ithaca Piano. This piano was located on the third floor of the Clinton House for many decades and was near total ruin. It was used to accompany silent films in the third floor auditorium back in the day. Here is a link to some photos and a short video:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/97132419@N02/albums/72157686825693251

Ed Swenson, retired music history professor at Ithaca College and piano technician, undertook the laborious restoration of this piano almost thirty years ago. Ed attended the meeting and providing us with the history of the Ithaca Organ & Piano Company. Ed credits former chapter member Robert Murphy for his valued assistance in the restoration. There was a contingent of foreign students at the Center that day and they were treated to some great piano music. Many thanks to Joe Pepper!

You can also see some pictures of the Ithaca Piano on Ed's website. Note the before photos of the action!

http://www.mozartpiano.com/en/gallery/

Ed mentioned that the upper front panel was missing on the piano. He replaced it with a panel that was appropriate for the period. Also note the last picture in the Flickr link: This is a photo of another Ithaca Piano with the original front upper panel.

On my Flickr photo album are two pictures from an article in the Ithaca Journal written in 1881. (The pictures of the article are hard to read so I have attached a pdf.) It covers the company's desire to produce a piano not only with a fully strung back but also a full second action in the back! There are no known survivors of this double action design. The article is full of hyperbole and wild statements but is a fun read. In my Flickr album you can see the patent for the double action. You can also see an advertisement by a piano dealer in Utica, NY. The picture in the ad is possibly one of these double action pianos.

Below is a link to a brief article about Henry Wegman - one of the founders of the company. Unfortunately the company only lasted a few years in Ithaca. Financing and other factors led the owners to relocate to Auburn, NY and a name change for the company. It is interesting to note that Henry worked at Steinway in 1882.

http://loganparklofts.com/wegman-piano-company/

Below is Henry Wegman's obituary:

http://mtr.arcade-museum.com/MTR-1894-19-14/MTR-1894-19-14-01.pdf

This past September my local chapter of The Piano Technicians Guild met at The Ithaca History Center to view the unique Ithaca Piano. This piano was located on the third floor of the Clinton House for many decades and was near total ruin. It was used to accompany silent films in the third floor auditorium back in the day. Here is a link to some photos and a short video:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/97132419@N02/albums/72157686825693251

Ed Swenson, retired music history professor at Ithaca College and piano technician, undertook the laborious restoration of this piano almost thirty years ago. Ed attended the meeting and providing us with the history of the Ithaca Organ & Piano Company. Ed credits former chapter member Robert Murphy for his valued assistance in the restoration. There was a contingent of foreign students at the Center that day and they were treated to some great piano music. Many thanks to Joe Pepper!

You can also see some pictures of the Ithaca Piano on Ed's website. Note the before photos of the action!

http://www.mozartpiano.com/en/gallery/

Ed mentioned that the upper front panel was missing on the piano. He replaced it with a panel that was appropriate for the period. Also note the last picture in the Flickr link: This is a photo of another Ithaca Piano with the original front upper panel.

On my Flickr photo album are two pictures from an article in the Ithaca Journal written in 1881. (The pictures of the article are hard to read so I have attached a pdf.) It covers the company's desire to produce a piano not only with a fully strung back but also a full second action in the back! There are no known survivors of this double action design. The article is full of hyperbole and wild statements but is a fun read. In my Flickr album you can see the patent for the double action. You can also see an advertisement by a piano dealer in Utica, NY. The picture in the ad is possibly one of these double action pianos.

Below is a link to a brief article about Henry Wegman - one of the founders of the company. Unfortunately the company only lasted a few years in Ithaca. Financing and other factors led the owners to relocate to Auburn, NY and a name change for the company. It is interesting to note that Henry worked at Steinway in 1882.

http://loganparklofts.com/wegman-piano-company/

Below is Henry Wegman's obituary:

http://mtr.arcade-museum.com/MTR-1894-19-14/MTR-1894-19-14-01.pdf