American Cherry wood 40”-tall Console Piano.

  This designer piece is a beauty to behold with its graceful lines, ornate music-rack and curved cabriole legs. Even the original matching bench with its needle-point covering is lovely for the eyes. The cabinet is in excellent condition and the piano was obviously adored and cared for. The Queen Anne furniture style originated during the rule of King William 111 of England and reached its primacy during the reign of Queen Anne (1702 – 1714). The style is known for its ornamental excesses and is also commonly referred to as Victorian. The Story and Clark piano company has had an excellent reputation for staying true to the style of decorative arts with all of their historic cabinet styles.

The cabinetry is built from warm, light-colored American Cherry wood veneers and preserved with a satin lacquer finish, and free of any particle board. All of the hardware is solid brass. The music-desk is sturdy in order to accommodate a heavy book and long enough for a multiple page musical score. The covering for the keyboard is a two-piece Boston-style fallboard with a long piano hinge that won’t scratch the sides or warp, and get stuck inside. It has been a permanent resident here in Albuquerque, so it is happily acclimated and well-adjusted to our unique climate.  Though the piano was built in 1964 it has a modest amount of wear.  The overall condition is excellent; structurally and aesthetically.  We provided a thorough action regulation, cleaning and multiple tunings for stability in our restoration shop.  The tuning pins are tight, so it holds tune well.  Given Story & Clark’s well-earned reputation for maintenance-free durability, this piano should provide many more years of enjoyment and musical fulfillment. We’re happy to warrant the instrument for two years. Complimentary local, first-floor professional delivery is included.

Hampton Story began his retail piano business in 1857 and was joined by Melville Clark in 1884. They actually had a thriving reed organ manufacturing business in Chicago, Ill. before they built pianos. Eventually, there were also factories in London, England and Berlin, Germany. When they began building pianos, the factory was located in Grand Haven, Michigan which was called “Furniture Country” at the time due to its numerous furniture factories. Logging and lumber mills thrived there due to the vast forests of diverse timber in the area which included the northern US and Canada. Hardwoods and softwoods were plentiful. A piano is constructed with various different species of wood, depending on the need whether it be strength, flexibility, density, beauty, uniformity of grain etc.

After leaving the piano industry, Mr. Story went on to help develop Coronado Island across the bay from San Diego and build the luxurious Hotel del Coronado in what became Coronado, California. The “Hotel del” is an architectural gem and the second largest wooden structure in the US. The Crown room is perfectly round and built without any metal fasteners like nails, screws or bolts, but only wooden dowels, joints and pegs. Mr. Clark, ironically went on to found the QRS company (Quality Roll Systems – think player-piano rolls) in 1900 and he designed old-fashioned pneumatic (air pressure with a bellows) player-pianos and eventually, new electronic disk-player systems that became popular in the 1990’s. Those systems are actually wireless today and play wirelessly through networks with no need for disk drives. You can control them with your phone or tablet. To complete the circle, QRS acquired the Story & Clark Piano Co. in 1993 in order to offer these player-systems in their own piano brand.

Est. 1857 by Hampton L Story and later with Melville Clark