Cable Piano Company Historical Overview

Getting his start in organ manufacturing, H.D. Cable founded The Cable Piano Company, also known as “Cable Company,” in 1880. Born in 1880, Cable began his career working for Wolfinger Organ Co. and then moved to Chicago Cottage Organ. [1]

Based in New York, The Cable Piano Company company merged with Conover Brothers in 1890, while Cable’s two brothers also joined operations. Acquiring Schiller Piano from Illinois, The Cable Company had two factories in the U.S. by 1920 - one in St. Charles and the other in Chicago. At the peak of production, the Cable Company employed over 500 workers. [2] Cable built a company culture that valued its workers, offering musical outlets, chorus, baseball teams and other perks on the job. [3]

A series of acquisitions in the mid to late 1900s, resulted in Cable Company being purchased by the Aeolian American Corporation. By 2001, Gibson Guitars had purchased rights to the Cable name and continuing piano production in China. 

About The Cable Piano Company

By the 1920s, the Cable Company was producing pianos under the names Conover, Cable, Kingsbury, Wellington, and Schiller. They also introduced a variety of player piano models under the names Conover Carola INner-Player, Conover Solo Carola Inner-Player, Carola Inner-Player, Solo Carola Inner-Player, Euphona Inner-Player, and Solo Euphona Inner-Player.

The Cable Piano Company trademarked their own technology for the construction of soundboards and frames. Known as the “Tonarch” for uprights and “Crownstay” for grands, the way they constructed the elements of the piano were unique in the industry and earned a reputation for excellence. These were curved braces built into the frame to allow for ideal tone once the soundboard was installed.

Cable Piano Company Restoration  

For many Cable piano owners today, the decision to restore their Cable Piano Company piano is easy. The original Cable Company pianos are worth anywhere between $500-1,000 unrestored. However, when Lindeblad restores early-American pianos like Cable pianos, the value can increase up to $20,000.

Interested in learning more about how we restore and repair Cable Company pianos? Call us today!

References: 

[1] Pierce, W. Robert. Pierce Piano Atlas: Anniversary Edition, 2017 Our 70th Year. Albuquerque: Ashley, 2017. Print.

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_Piano_Company#cite_note-6  →

http://www.st-charles.lib.il.us/history/cablepiano.htm/ 

[3] http://bluebookofpianos.com/cable.htm