Ellington pianos, which Gibson/Baldwin unveiled at summer NAMM, may seem like new kids on the block, but in the early years of the 20th century, the old Ellington factory in Cincinnati shipped out pianos to destinations all over the world.

Shipping ledgers from the 1910s read like a travel guide to exotic locales. In the month of March 1915, for example, the Ellington factory sent one piano to San Francisco and all the rest to Havana, Lima, Athens and Melbourne. In December 1918, one piano stayed in Cincinnati and the rest (27 total) went to Buenos Aires, Manila, Havana and Mexico City.

What was it that made Ellingtons so popular?

Price, for one thing. And membership in the Baldwin family of brands, for another. The idea behind Ellington was to offer the quality associated with the leading American piano maker - Baldwin - at an affordable price.

The Ellington name is a story in itself. Baldwin's practice had been to appropriate new brand names from the name of its founder, Dwight Hamilton Baldwin. First came Baldwin, of course. Then Hamilton was used on a line of organs (and later pianos). But there was a problem with Dwight. The town of Dwight, Illinois, was the home of a well-known alcoholic rehabilitation center with branches all around the country. In the 1890s, "Going to Dwight" or "Sent to Dwight" were common phrases for alcoholics drying out. D.H. Baldwin wanted no association with alcoholism - not even with a cure for the disease - so he chose the name of a family who had been longtime friends: Ellington.

Baldwin's multiple-brand strategy worked well, allowing the Baldwin brand to retain its prestige while the other brands met the demand for pianos at lower price points. And there was plenty of demand at those price points. By the end of the first decade of the 1900s, Baldwin was selling almost as many pianos that did not say Baldwin as were sold under the Baldwin brand. Of the 4,000-plus non-Baldwins produced in 1909, Ellington accounted for more than half - more than all the other house brands put together.

With no competition yet from radio or "talkies," the piano business boomed in the early 1900s. In fact, one of the exciting new forms of entertainment was a newly perfected type of piano -- one that played itself. Baldwin marketed its Manualo "reproducing" pianos, as the player pianos were called, under a variety of brands, but on the inside they were all built on an Ellington chassis. Again, Ellington shipping records tell the story: 247 player pianos shipped in 1909; ten times that many a decade later.

For piano makers, the good times were too good to last. Sadly, Ellington proved to be an industry leader when the piano business started its decline. The shipping ledgers show export sales falling off after World War I (even though overall sales increased), due in part to the return of European piano makers. Then in 1921, shipments of Ellington player pianos dropped dramatically. Commercial radio had arrived and talking pictures were only a few years away. By the end of the 1920s, the piano industry was in serious trouble, and the onset of the Depression killed off many familiar names. Ellington - a name once known around the world, a mainstay of Baldwin's family of brands - did not survive past 1930. But the Ellington ideal - a quality piano at an affordable price - lives on in a new Ellington line.

For the complete Ellington history, from the 1800s to current, please pick up a copy of The Ellington Story from your Baldwin dealer or call 1.800.876.2976.