Chickering Pianos
Jonas Chickering, the father of the modern piano, developed one of Americaís earliest
and most popular piano brands. Chickering was born in 1798 in Mason, New Hampshire.
As a boy, he learned woodworking skills as a cabinetmakerís apprentice. At the age of
20, Chickering traveled to Boston where he was employed by John Osborne, the only piano
builder in the city at that time. Within five years, Chickering had mastered the
details of piano craftsmanship and began to add his own enhancements.
Jonas Chickering
The first Chickering piano was crafted in 1823. In 1837, Jonas
produced a grand piano which utilized a one-piece, cast-iron plate. This improvement
on Alpheus Babcock's cast-iron frame for the square piano proved to be the foundation
of all modern piano construction, successfully solving the problem of proper support
for the increased string tension required by larger pianos. This invention caused
a revolution in piano building, as a grand piano could finally support the tension
necessary to meet the resilience and richer tone required by the days greatest
virtuosos. Chickering also developed
the overstringing method used in grand pianos today. This design allows the bass strings
to be positioned over treble strings and over the most resonant, center section of the
soundboard for improved tone quality. This design would eventually be improved by
Steinway, who combined over-stringing with a cast-iron frame.
In 1995, Baldwin pianos reintroduced the Chicerking brand.
