Originally posted by aheiliger:
Hello,
does anyone know anything about the history of the Astor Piano company.
When was it founded?
By whom?
Where?
How many Pianos did they make?
How long did it "live"? i.e. when was it closed
down and why?
When did Korea (Young Chang) buy Astor? Did they
buy just the name or did they buy manufacturing
facilities?
Thank you for helping me.
aheiliger@aol.com
There is not a lot of information about Astor in the Piano Atlas. There are several companies called Astor, but there is no real info on any of them.
One of the Astors is a stencil brand for Kohler and Campbell/Bacon. If yours is a turn of the century piano and I were to hazard a guess, I would say that yours is one of those.
There are also two British Astor Piano Companies, and a notation for an Astor Piano Piano Company in New York in 1828. Perhaps the Astor name was picked up when K&C (also of New York) bought the Astor Piano Company, but this is pure speculation on my part.
