The Melville Clark Piano Company was establish in 1900 when Melville Clark left the prominent Story & Clark Piano Company to start his own firm. In 1901, the Melville Clark Piano Company introduced the Apollo line of pianos and player pianos. Melville Clark was an inventor and innovator, and these Apollo instruments were built as high quality, advanced instruments for their time. The firm built pianos and player pianos under the names of Melville Clark, Apollo, Art-Apollo and Apollophone (a player piano with a built in phonograph).  By the 1920s, the famous Rudolph Wurlitzer Company had gained completed control of both Melville Clark and Apollo brand names, and Wurlitzer continued to build pianos under both the Melville Clark and Apollo labels until the World War II era.