Wurlitzer was established in 1856 by Franz Randolph Wurlitzer in New York. A factory was built in Cincinnati,
OH in 1861 but the company did not build their first piano until 1880. Despite Franz Rudolph Wurlitzer’s death in 1914, the company carried on, surviving the age of the gramophone by introducing the first automatic
jukebox, the Wurlitzer Simplex. During the 1920’s Wurlitzer acquired the Melville Clark line of pianos and
continued to manufacture the same name of instruments. In 1935, Wurlitzer introduced the tradition-breaking spinet piano, proving that a piano only thirty-nine inches high could replace the bulky instruments traditionally produced. Through the company's research and ingenuity, Wurlitzer has created exclusive features such as Tonecrafted Hammers, the Pentagonal Sound Board, the Augmented Sound Board, and many others to
provide a greater volume of rich, resonant tones for their instrument. Another unique achievement of Wurlitzer
is their "Wurl-on" finish which is highly resistant to heat, cold, dryness, and moisture... as well as smears,
scratches, and abrasions - an attractive as well as a durable, long-lasting finish. In 1955, Wurlitzer introduced
their sensational new electronic piano that had no strings or soundboard, yet provided a natural piano tone
through the means of an entirely electronic mechanism. A console model of the electronic piano was
introduced in 1957 which met with immediate popularity. Wurlitzer piano lines were manufactured under the
names of Apollo, De Kalb, Julius Bauer, Melville Clark, Farney, Kingston, Kurtzman, Merrium, Schaff Bros.
and Underwood. In 1995 Baldwin Piano & Organ Co. purchased the Wurlitzer & Chickering brands. At the
order of Baldwin, Wurlitzer grands were built by Young Chang, until about 1996 when production was moved
to Samick. Gibson Guitars acquired the Baldwin Piano Co. in 2001, along with the Wurlitzer name. In 2004,
Gibson acquired a piano factory in the Guangdong Province of China. In 2006, the company purchased the
Dongbei Piano Group, the third largest Chinese piano maker in the world, to date.

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