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March 09, 2006
Presidential Pianos
(Courtesy of the Pierce Piano Atlas)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0911138048/allaboutpianosA/102-4340732-2312945
I’ve always been interested in Presidential trivia. With this list, you’ll always have an answer in case one of your friends should ask: “What kind of piano did Abraham Lincoln have?” (He actually had two pianos, but I don’t know if he owned them both at the same time).
So, here are the presidents and their pianos:
1st President - George Washington - Longman & Broderip Harpsichord; Schoen & Vinsen Pianoforte
2nd President - John Adams - Currier & Co.
3rd President - Thomas Jefferson - Astor Pianoforte
4th President - James Madison - Square Grand (name destroyed by fire)
5th President - James Monroe - Astor Piano
6th President - John Quincy Adams - Currier & Co.
7th President - Andrew Jackson - T. Gilbert & Co. Square Piano
8th President - Martin Van Buren - Hallet & Cumston Square Piano
9th President - William Henry Harrison - Haines Brothers
10th President - John Tyler - Thomas Tomkinson Upright Piano
11th President - James Knox Polk - Astor & Harwood Square Piano
12th President - Zachary Taylor - name unknown
13th President - Millard Fillmore - name unknown
14th President - Franklin Pierce - Chickering Square Piano
15th President - James Buchanan - Chickering Grand Piano
16th President - Abraham Lincoln - Chickering Square Piano & Chickering Upright
17th President - Andrew Johnson - Steinway & Sons Square Piano
18th President - Ulysses S. Grant - Melodeon
19th President - Rutherford B. Hayes - Bradbury Upright & Harpsichord (name destroyed by fire)
20th President - James A. Garfield - Hallet & Davis Upright
21st President - Chester A. Arthur - Piano cannot be located.
22nd President - Grover Cleveland - Combination Piano & Harpsichord (name destroyed by fire)
23rd President - Benjamin Harrison - J. & C. Fischer Upright Piano, Haines Brothers Square
24th President - Grover Cleveland - (same as above)
25th President - William McKinley - A. H. Gale Co. Square Piano
26th President - Theodore Roosevelt - Chickering Upright, Steinway Grand Piano
27th President - William Howard Taft - Baldwin Grand Piano
28th President - Woodrow Wilson - Ernst Rosenkranst Square Piano, Knabe Grand
29th President - Warren G. Harding - A. B. Chase Electric Player Piano
30th President - Calvin Coolidge - Sohmer Upright Piano
31st President - Herbert Hoover - Knabe Grand & A. B. Chase Grand
32nd President - Franklin D. Roosevelt - Hardman Grand
33rd President - Harry S. Truman - Steinway Grand, Baldwin Grand & Steinway Upright
34th President - Dwight D. Eisenhower - Hallet & Cumston Upright
35th President - John F. Kennedy - Ivers & Pond Grand Piano
36th President - Lyndon B. Johnson - Style L. Steinway, Knabe Console
37th President - Richard M. Nixon - Geo. P. Bent Upright, Baldwin Vertical
38th President - Gerald Ford - No personal piano
39th President - James (Jimmy) Carter - Ludden & Bates
40th President - Ronald Reagan - Steinway Grand
41st President - George Bush - Did not own personal piano.
42nd President - William (Bill) Clinton - Baldwin Grand in the Governor's Mansion.
43rd President - George W. Bush - No personal piano. Steinway Grand in the White House residence.
My personal piano? A 1928 Knabe Grand, built in Germany.
Woodrow Wilson owned a Knabe, as did Herbert Hoover and Lyndon B. Johnson.
Our current President does not have a personal piano. Too bad, since playing the piano can be very relaxing, and as you know, his job can sometimes be a bit stressful.
Posted by leon at March 9, 2006 01:09 PM
Comments
I wonder how many of them had personal guitars...
hmmmm? And of those that owned the personal pianos...how many of the presidents actually played the piano? hmmmm? Being President is such a left brain occupation, it would be interesting to see how many leaned toward the creative right brain side.
Posted by: Sandy at March 9, 2006 11:58 PM