Author ORCID Identifier
Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
2026
Degree Name
Master of Music (MM)
Department
Music
First Advisor
Darryl Martin
Abstract
The American piano industry was in a significant period of technical innovation, increased production, and standardization during the second half of the nineteenth century. This resulted in the American form of the instrument dominating the design and sound ideals still expected of the modern piano. Mason & Hamlin, a major reed organ company, entered the piano market in the early 1880s, relatively late compared to the largest, and most market-dominant companies, such as Steinway and Chickering. This thesis examines the origin and early implementation of the designs and innovations that have become standard for the modern American piano, and how Mason & Hamlin’s own product launches interacted with these expectations and were subsequently revised from 1895 to 1905. Additionally, the survival of the sales ledger books for Mason & Hamlin’s piano production in this era provides a valuable opportunity to examine in detail how internal corporate record keeping can elucidate a fuller picture of the company’s product development, delivery quantities, and clients. This thesis includes an analysis of Mason & Hamlin’s “Ledger Book 3,” running from approximately 1897 to 1905, as a framework to demonstrate change in the company’s activities in this period and how development of technologies that remain central to the Mason & Hamlin piano brand were implemented.
Subject Categories
Music | United States History
Keywords
Corporate history, History of musical instruments, Mason & Hamlin, Material culture, Pianos
Number of Pages
531
Publisher
University of South Dakota
Recommended Citation
Sheets, Arian, "Creating a Modern American Piano: Antecedent, Launch, and Reinvention of Mason & Hamlin's Piano Line Through 1905" (2026). Dissertations and Theses. 424.
https://red.library.usd.edu/diss-thesis/424