---------- > From: pianoman <pianoman@inlink.com> > To: jwod@creighton.edu; pianotech@ptg.org > Subject: Re: Yamaha reply > Date: Wednesday, September 24, 1997 3:57 PM > > > > ---------- > > From: jwod@creighton.edu > > To: pianoman@inlink.com > > Subject: Yamaha > > Date: Wednesday, September 24, 1997 7:50 AM > > > > > > Hi, Yes, now you have my curiosity going. please tell me about his first > > piano. Did they ever build a reproducing grand? > > > > > > Sincerely > > > > Stanley Gross > > Omaha, NE jwod@creighton.edu > Dear Stan, > No reproducing pianos that I know of till recently. > The story goes that Yamaha had a very successful reed organ business (over > 2,000 a year) until the early in the 1900 when Yamaha met a fellow named K. > Kawai who had successfully built a wooden bicycle that held up well. At > this time also Yamaha had visited America visiting the Mason & Hamlin and > Chickering factories. He figured that anyone who could design with that > much stability could design other things as well also. He hired this > fellow named Kawai to design his (Yamaha's' first piano). I read somewhere > that the first piano was turned out in 1902 although the first year in the > atlas is 1917. The first year he built 2. In 1904 he sent over an > instrument for the St. Louis Worlds Fair where he received an honorary > prize. Before 1914 he was building 10,000 reed organ a year and began > producing the Butterfly brand of harmonicas. He got a boost in sale for > these because of Hohner harmonicas were made in Germany. Unfortunately > Torakuso died in 1916 and maybe Kawai did not get along with whoever took > over controls. The reed organ business continued independently with pianos > until 1927 when Kawai left Yamaha to start his own company building, guess > what, pianos and reed organs). Yamaha went through several other design > changes as they lured German engineers (Bechstein) with huge amounts of > money to redesign them again in 1930. WW11 pretty well destroyed > everything but caused all new factories and machinery to be built which was > probably an advantage. In 1947 the first pianos, harmonicas, and reed > organs started going again as well as the first motorcycles in 1955. > Success continues. > > James Grebe > RPT from St. Louis > pianoman@inlink.com
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