In 1992 S&C pianos became a division of the Classic Player Pianos Corporation in 1990. When the factory closed in 1984, Lowrey split the piano and electronic keyboard businesses and sold them to different investors. The Story and Clark piano business had been sold to the Lowrey Organ Company in 1962, and sales slowly declined during the 1970s. Clark left the firm in 1901 to form his own company, and Story and Clark pianos moved to a new factory in Grand Haven, Michigan.ĭespite surviving the Great Depression and increasing sales during the post war years, the factory was eventually closed in 1984 and has since been redeveloped into over 60 priced from $159,00 to $795,00.
The Story and Clark business thrived and opened a factory in England in 1892 and another in Germany in 1893. He joined with various piano makers to start manufacturing Story and Powers pianos in 1862, then Story and Camp pianos and organs in 1868, before finally establishing Story and Clark pianos in 1884. Story senior had started out working in a music store for $50 a month and saved enough to buy out the principal in 1859. Story and Melville Clark, an expert reed-organ builder.
Story and Clark was founded in 1884 by Hampton L. It turns out that Story and Clark has a long and interesting history in piano manufacturing, and is still being used as a piano brand name after the company changed ownership several times towards the end of the twentieth century. Having just bought a second-hand 1970 Story and Clark piano, I was interest in learning a bit more about the company that had made my piano.