Story and Clark pianos are among the most innovative pianos in the world. They have combined the features of the traditional piano along with some of the latest technology in piano manufacturing. With this combination, the player can enjoy the best experience of playing the piano with quality features of a well-made piano.
ABOUT THIS STORY AND CLARK PIANO: Like new! Four years young and sold by us originally. Rare and highly sought after French Provincial styling in a polished ebony case. Great way to dress up the standard 'shiny black grand'. This is NOT a current Story & Clark baby grand made by Samick in Indonesia. Since 1857, when Hampton L. Story built his first instrument, discriminating purchasers have marveled at the fine craftsmanship that makes every Story & Clark piano a treasure. Exacting standards for tonal excellence and quality at a superb overall value are the hallmarks of the Story & Clark name.
Company History The history of the Story and Clark can be traced from 1857 when Hampton L. Story built his first piano. He began as a salesman but was able to buy it from the owner and had several piano companies from 1859 to 1883.
The company and partnership with Melvin Clark in 1884 in Chicago, Illinois together with Hampton L. Story and his son Edward H. Story combined quality craftsmanship, tone and affordability of his work with Clark’s technological advances to create the best piano of their time. Their partnership did well enough that they were able to open up new manufacturing companies in England and Germany. Melvin Clark left their partnership in 1901 and opened his own piano company which later became famous for Present Day Manufacturing The company has been sold and split up many times but the pianos are still being sold under the same name.
Following Clark’s technological advances, the player units, manufactured by QRS Music Technologies, can be fully expanded as a current electronic keyboard. Each unit is can be ordered with a MIDI strip, fit underneath the keyboard, and installed with MIDI and USB out ports docked within the piano, depending on the model. Each piano, both the grand and the vertical models are two series - the Heritage and the Signature. The Heritage Series has thirteen different models - six Heritage Grand pianos and seven Heritage Upright pianos. The Signature Series has eight models - seven Signature Grand models and one Signature Upright piano.
The serial numbers printed on each piano indicates the age of the unit and model, to reference when they were manufactured. The number can be seen stamped on the front plate, on the key stop rail, and/or on the soundboard. Serial Numbers - Piano Age Find your Story and Clark Piano's serial number along with the piano age in the chart below. 1895 - 1900 1970 - 4 - 5335 1971 - 4 -4 -4 -5 -5 - 1 - 5 - 1 - 5 - 1 - 5 - 1 - 5 - 1 - 5 - 2 - 5 - 2 - 5 - 3 - 6 - 3 - 6 - 3 - 6 - 3 - 6 - 3 - 6 - 3 - 7 - 3 - 7 - 4 - 7 - 4 - 435000.
Hello, I just acquired a 1956 (according to the serial number search feature on their site) Story and Clark upright piano. It is in good condition inside, the outside is a bit banged up (that's OK, so is my 100 year old house and 50 year old self Even though it hasn't been tuned in years (even after the move to the house I moved it from) it's not badly out of tune and everything inside looks to be in good shape. I was wondering if anyone might know a bit more about it, what mode it is, what type of wood it's made of (I know many if not most soundboards were mahogany at that time) The person I got it from acquired it from Pacific Lutheran University where it was used as a practice instrument.
It has two pedals (not certain if that is by design or not) and a sticker inside that says 'Pratt, Reed & Co' I'm not worried about what it's worth as I'm just happy to have it, but about it's history and a bit more about it. Piano & Music Gifts & Accessories (570) Re: Story and Clark 1956 Upright 06/27/13 12:18 AM 06/27/13 12:18 AM Joined: Jun 2013 Posts: 4. Hi, and welcome to Piano World!
I'm no expert, but the older Story & Clark pianos seem to be pretty well built. I looked at an older S&C similar to the one in your photo and it had the agraffees across the top of the plate instead of the standard pressure bar. Usually, only the most well built uprights used the agraffees (sp?). This is a studio model, likely about 45' tall, used by many schools or other institutions.
The Pratt-Reed inside is likely written across the hammer rest rail and is the maker of the action. Congratulations on your new-to-you piano!