Weser Brothers

Weser Brothers produced their first player piano in 1897, about a decade earlier than most other major manufacturers. During the next decade, Weser Brothers were award 34 subsequent patents as they constantly improved the design of their player pianos. In 1907, the firm introduced a player piano equipped with both manual foot pumping pedals and an electric pump, making it one of the earliest electric player pianos on the market.

During the early 20th Century, Weser Brothers specialized in building high quality player pianos, although they did build a smaller number of conventional upright and grand pianos as well. In addition to the “Weser Brothers” brand name, the firm produced pianos under the names of Billings & Co., Coloniet, Marveola, Re-Rendo, Orpheola, and Winfield.

Despite their huge success, Weser Brothers was not immune to the financial stress of The Great Depression. In 1935 Weser Brothers reorganized as “Weser Pianos Corporation” under the direction of Walter C. Hepperla and L. C. Kauling. The Weser Pianos Corporation was set up to produce modern console pianos and baby grand pianos in order to meet the demands of the post-depression market. The Weser Brothers Corporation factories were used to build pianos for Kohler & Campbell, Story & Clark and Winter during the 1930s – 1950s period. Weser Brothers appears to have gone out of business in the mid 1950s.