This Kimball was actually built in 1907 according to the serial number you gave me. Kimball pianos often included pictures on the underside of the lid that were related to various happenings to include patent dates or models coinciding with a big event of the time, like an expo. Antique Kimball Baby Grand White Piano Serial Number dated 1903. Kimball upright piano. Ending May 17 at 6:51PM PDT 5d 8h Local Pickup. 1980 1981 Whitney by Kimball upright Piano. $64.50 shipping. KIMBALL GRAND PIANOS: BLUEBOOK: KOHLER & CAMPBELL VERTICAL II PIANOS (Cont): BLUEBOOK: 4640 Ebony Satin: $2.760.00: 2100WaJnut: $2.260.00: 4620'Walnut Satin: $2.860.
Kimball Piano and Organ History
Founded originally in 1857 by William Wallace Kimball, the Kimball Piano Company got its start as a piano dealer, selling popular brands of the time as well as affordable reed organs. By 1877, W.W. Kimball was producing his own reed organs and built a facility to support the largest organ manufacturing operation in the world at the time. [1]
Sadly, the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 caused great damage to the Crosby Opera House where Kimball’s store resided. After a recent $80,000+ renovation, the fire brought it to the ground. In the haste of the fire, Kimball and his acquaintances managed to wheel only seven grand pianos out of the burning building before the rest of the building’s contents were burned to ashes. [2]
A decade later, in 1888, Kimball started piano production and quickly rose to prominence as one of the largest manufacturers of its time, making nearly 22,000 pianos in the year 1902 alone. A short decline in business around the time of World War II led to the relocation of the Kimball Piano operations from Chicago to Indiana where they reside today. In 1959, Kimball sold to Jasper Corporation who continued production of Kimball piano names and serial numbers.
With piano sales peaking in the 1960s and 70s, Kimball began manufacturing home and office furniture and electronics and went public as Kimball International. Due to a decline in sales, the piano and organ division shut down and the last Kimball piano was produced in 1996. [3]
About Kimball Pianos
Acquiring several smaller piano companies throughout the 20th century, Kimball rose to prominence as one of the largest piano manufacturers throughout the Great Depression time period and mid-1900s.
Kimball produced many different upright, grand and spinet style pianos under various names. These names included:
- Kimball
- W.W. Kimball
- Jasper-American
- Becker
- Conn
- De Voe & Sons
- Harrison
- Hinze
- Krakauer
- La Petite
- Schuerman
- Whitmore
- Whitney
- Whittaker
Restoring Kimball Pianos
Considered a middle tier piano in terms of quality, sound, and price, Kimball Pianos range in value between $500-1,000 unrestored. Depending on the type, style, and age of the piano, Lindeblad has restored some Kimball pianos to now be worth up to $20,000.
Known for their grand, upright and spinet pianos, many midwestern Americans found themselves buying Kimball pianos in the mid-1900s due to the Chicago location of the manufacturing facility. [4] Affordable and readily-available, Kimball pianos were the ideal piano for in-home practice in the 1950s-1970s.
Need restoration, repair or refinishing for your Kimball? Contact Lindeblad today!
References:
[1] Pierce, W. Robert. Pierce Piano Atlas: Anniversary Edition, 2017 Our 70th Year. Albuquerque: Ashley, 2017. Print.
[2] Bradley, Van Allen. Music for the Millions: The Kimball Piano and Organ Story. Chicago: Regnery Company, 1957. Print.
[3]http://www.kimball.com/kimball_history.aspx
[4] http://www.sweeneypiano.com/interstate/manufacturers/kimball_pianos.cfm
Kimball Pianos. From its humble beginnings in 1857 as W.W. Kimball and Company, to the present mega company, Kimball International, the brand name Kimball has certainly gone through some interesting events over the decades. Kimball Pianos are some of the best known pianos in the world, and unfortunately, they are no longer produced as of 1996.
The last Grand Piano made by the company is on display in their Showroom in Jasper, Indiana. On it you can see the autographs of all employees and executives of the company.
W.W. Kimball and Company (1857-1959)
What we know today as Kimball international has its roots in the corner of a jewelry store. There is where William Wallace Kimball founded the company as a piano dealership. He later moved to the Crosby Opera House from where he sold pianos made by other manufacturers, such as Chickering and Sons, the J & C Fischer Piano Company, Hallet & Davis, and others.
It is important to note that at this point, Kimball was purely a dealership, not a manufacturer, although this would later change.
In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire wrecked havoc to Kimball's business, razing down all the company’s assets. Wallace Kimball did not, however, give up. He started working from home and gradually rebuilt the business.
The first time that Kimball began making its own instruments was in 1877 when it started assembling reed organs. The company quickly grew as a manufacturer and by 1880 the organs they were selling were made wholly in-house.
The Kimball Company was officially formed in 1882 and at this time there was enough money to build a large factory for the production of reed organs. Production underwent a quick growth spurt and soon peaked at 15,000 organs per year. This meant that the company was the largest organ maker in the world.
In 1887, the company broadened its manufacturing business to include pianos. A massive five story factory was built for that purpose. Over the next ensuing decades, superior piano quality and aggressive sales tactics made Kimball one of the top producers of pianos in the world. During this time they made different types of pianos including player and upright pianos.
In the early 1900s Reed organs were falling out of 'public favor' as pianos increased in popularity due to a number of factors, including economics.
So in 1922 after producing a total of 403,990 reed organs, Kimball halted the production of any more.
Subsidiary of Jasper Corporation (1959-1996)
Jasper Corporation was a contract manufacturer of furniture, founded in 1950 by Arnold Habig. The company grew from a small corporation making a little more than $100,000 in their first year to millions of dollars in later years.
Through Habig’s brilliant entrepreneurship, Jasper Corporation rose to acquiring other furniture manufacturing companies along the way. In 1959, Habig wanted to expand the company’s production scope to guarantee stability. In order to utilize the woodworking skills of the employees, the new expansion had to be something to do with wood.
In comes the Kimball Piano Company, which was by now struggling to cope as a result of financial mistakes by Kimball Jr. It had gone from the top piano maker in the world to the seventh.
'Music for The Millions'
Mr. Habig purchased the company in 1959 and moved it to West Baden Springs in Indiana in 1961. In the period of around 10 years, Kimball underwent a period of rejuvenation and by 1969 had once gain regained its title as largest piano maker worldwide. The subsidiary company grew so successful that they shipped 150 electric organs and 250 pianos on a daily basis from the factory.
Kimball produced grand pianos ranging from 135cm (4' 5') in length, to larger 201cm (6' 11') pianos. Other piano types produced included small console and upright pianos.
In 1966, the Jasper Corporation [parent company to Kimball pianos] bought the prestigious Austrian piano maker, Bosendorfer. It remained Kimball's, before returning to Austrian hands, when purchased by the BAWAG PSK Gruppe in 2002.
On December 20, 2007, BAWAG signed an agreement to sell all stock in Bösendorfer to Yamaha, who owns the company to this present day (2017).
Kimball International (1974 to date)
Executives at Jasper Corporation noted that the Kimball brand name was more popular than Jasper. They decided to leverage its popularity to increase furniture sales. So in 1974 Kimball International was incorporated as a public company.
In the 1990s, sales of pianos were plummeting. This was mostly due to the presence of other musical instruments in the market.
Things became so bad that the company was forced to close down the piano and organ arm of Kimball International in 1996.
As mentioned before, the last Grand Piano is displayed in a showroom in Jasper Indiana. Meanwhile, Kimball International has focused all its resources on the furniture business.
Kimball Pianos
Serial Numbers
1888 - 1 1892 - 13000 1899 - 66000 1900 - 69000 1905 - 140000 1910 - 211000 1915 - 279800 1920 - 322000 1925 - 360400 1930 - 383000 1935 - 406000 1940 - 438000 | 1946 - 480000 1950 - 517000 1955 - 562300 1960 - 604000 1965 - 661300 1970 - 764200 1975 - 951000 |
Kimball's production of grands stopped in early 1996, and vertical pianos in April 1996. Please reach out to us via our Appraisals Page for serial numbers and Kimball piano values, not contained on this page.
W W Kimball Piano Serial
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