American Made Pianos

An Outstanding Manufacturing Tradition

Service Icon

Hardman Piano Company

Factory Location: Memphis, Tennessee
Serial Number Dates: 1850 - 1982

History:

Harman Piano Company was established in 1842 by Hugh Hardman. The company became Hardman-Peck & Company when Leopold Peck joined the company in 1890. The company became known for it's foot-powered player piano. Several piano names were associated with the Hardmon Company: Autotone, Hardmon Duo Player, Harrington, Hensel, Minipiano, and Playtone.

 

Information source: Pierce Piano Atlas

The Resonance of a Continent: The American Piano Tradition

The American piano manufacturing tradition is a story of unparalleled craftsmanship meeting the boundless natural resources of a new world. At its heart lies the selection of materials—most notably the vast, old-growth spruce forests of the Pacific Northwest and the Northeast. These superior stands of Sitka and Adirondack spruce provided the tight-grained, resonant timber essential for crafting the world’s finest soundboards, offering a tonal depth and "singing" quality that European makers envied. Combined with a relentless spirit of industrial innovation, American makers refined the overstrung scale and the heavy cast-iron plate, creating instruments of such structural integrity and powerful projection that they redefined the modern piano.