Steinway and Sons

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Steinway and Sons. NY firm of pf. manufacturers founded 1853 by Heinrich Engelhard Steinway (orig. Steinweg) (b Wolfshagen, 1797; d NY, 1871) and his sons Charles and Henry, who in 1851 had gone to NY from Hamburg where they were involved in the Steinweg firm which eventually became Grotrian-Steinweg. At 1855 NY World Fair, Steinway prod. iron-framed pf. of much greater sonority than had hitherto been heard. A 3rd son, Theodore, joined the firm in the 1860s and developed the concert-grands which made the firm world-famous. Branch opened in London 1875 by 4th son, William, and factories est. in Hamburg 1880. Amer. factory moved to Long Island to site which became known as Steinway. Firm sold to CBS in 1972.