In 1854, two brilliant idealists, Henry Mason and Emmons Hamlin, founded the Mason & Hamlin Company in Boston, Massachusetts, the birthplace of American piano design and manufacturing. Although their backgrounds and interests were very different, the two men shared a common goal: to make the world’s finest musical instruments.

In 1881, the company decided to branch out into making pianos. Following traditions established in making its organs, Mason & Hamlin built its pianos with the very finest materials---slowly and meticulously, with great attention to even the smallest detail. Wisely, it also hired brilliant designers. Among them was Richard W. Gertz, a genius who contributed many innovations to the piano industry, including the Duplex Scale, screw stringer and the Tension Resonator, a remarkable device that was designed to maintain the crown of the soundboard for the life of a piano. With Mason & Hamlin’s innovations, use of only the finest materials and expert craftsmanship, its pianos were the world’s costliest to produce and widely accepted as the world’s finest.

Great pianists weren’t the only artists endorsing Mason & Hamlin Pianos. Many of the opera world’s greatest stars spoke on their behalf. Anna Case was an American-born singer who debuted with the Metropolitan Opera at the age of 20 and sang her first solo role six months later. She was in fact the firs American singer at the Met who had no European training or international reputation. She was a brilliant star there and remained at the opera house from 1909 to 1920. During her incredible career she endorsed the Mason & Hamlin Piano.

In 1854, Henry Mason and Emmons Hamlin joined forces to create a company with a single vision: to build the finest musical instruments in the world. Today, Mason & Hamlins’ vison is the same, and the standards of quality that were established one hundred and fifty years ago continue to guide a new generation of piano makers.