Curtaz, Benjamin
The firm of Benjamin Curtaz was established in 1885 in San Francisco, California. In 1888, the firm was changed to Benjamin Curtaz & Son. Curtaz started out being a large retailer on the West Coast for many popular American piano manufacturers, but quickly began building pianos under his own name. The firm offered a full line of upright and grand pianos, and after the turn-of-the-century, they introduced player pianos into their product line.
Pianos built by Curtaz were known to be of very good quality, and they were priced as affordable alternatives to the costlier brand names retailed by the firm. Curtaz brand pianos are rarely found on the East Coast, indicating that they were not aggressively pushed outside of the West Coast region. The few Curtaz pianos we have seen come through our shop have consistently been extremely well made instruments. The firm went out of business along with the Great Depression.
INSTRUMENT CATALOGS & EPHEMERA
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Early 20th Century Curtaz Advertisements
Early 20th Century Advertisements For The Benjamin Curtaz & Son Piano Company, San Francisco
19th Century Curtaz Advertisement For Benjamin Curtaz, Piano Maker, San Francisco
Portait of Benjamin Curtaz, Piano Maker, San Francisco