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W.W. Kimball Square Grand Piano, No. 75365, Mfg. Chicago, Ill., mfg. 1901. Mason & Hamlin Organ Co., Style 245, No. 110672. Originally owned by Henry C. and Lilly F. Needham; donated to the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society in December 2001 by Mark Gates. Donation facilitated by City Councilwoman and Historical Society board member Laurene Weste. (Gates and Weste are shown in the first photo at the time of the donation.) Plaque on the piano reads:
HISTORY OF THE NEEDHAM PIANO
A gift from Henry Clay Needham to Lilly F. Taylor, April 17, 1879, the date of their marriage. First came to Newhall in the year 1889, aboard a wagon and was maintained at the present side [sic] of Eternal Valley Memorial Park which the Needham family owned for more than 50 years. The piano was moved into the Los Angeles residence of the Needham family in 1898 and returned in 1955 (approximately) to Nellie Mae Needham Miller's home. It was presented to her in Girard, Crawford County, Kansas. They were both residents of Lincoln Township. The plaque notwithstanding, the piano was manufactured in 1901. Perhaps, sometime during the 20th Century, the family got its pianos mixed up. This information is provided by Frank Baxter of Piano World:
W.W. Kimball square piano, serial No. 75365, built 1901.
W.W. Kimball, made by:
Kimball Piano Group Kimball pianos in the 1870s used serial numbers in the 17000 to 24000 range. Kimball square pianos made by Hale used 40000 to 45000; Kimball squares made by Emerson used 14000 to 24000 (1870s). Kimball Piano Group (formerly Kimball Piano & Organ Co.) was founded in 1857 under the name of W.W. Kimball & Co. when Kimball, a poor Maine farmboy who had set up a business selling real estate and insurance in Iowa, moved to Chicago and opened up a piano store, convinced that there was money to be made supplying goods to "Western" pioneers. In 1959, Kimball was sold to the Jasper Corporation, an Indiana plywood and cabinet manufacturer and piano production was moved to Indiana. During the next two decades, Jasper, now called Kimball International, purchased the renowned Austrian piano manufacturer Bosendorfer in 1966, the highly respected U.S. piano maker Krakauer in 1980, supplier companies such as the English maker of the Schwander and Langer actions, Herrburger Brooks and timber lands, lumber mills, and firms in other industries necessary to its operations. Kimball International is now a Fortune 500 Company with involvements in furniture making, contract cabinetry, electronic subassembly, and plastics. The last Kimball pianos were made in 1996. Sources of information: The Pierce Piano Atlas The Atlas der Pianonummern (Germany) The Musician's Piano Atlas (England) The Piano Book (Larry Fine) Piano (by David Crombie) Pianos and Their Makers (Alfred Dolge) The Piano Blue Book Piano Roles (James Parakilas) (Submitted by) Frank Baxter
Now housed at Heritage Junction Historic Park in Newhall.
HS9005: Download individual images here. Digital images by Leon Worden 2001.
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SEE ALSO:
Wild Turkey Story by Needham ~1900
Pearl Oil Co. Stock 1901
Oil Field Notes 1900/1901
Needham & Family (3) ~1930
Granddaughter's Story 2000
Needham Piano & Organ Donated 2001
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