Intricately engraved antique bond certificate from the D. H. Baldwin Company dating back to the 1970's and 1980's. This document, which carries the printed signatures of the company President and Secretary, was printed by the American Bank Note Company, and measures approximately 12" (w) by 8" (h).
The certificate's vignette shows a bust of Dwight Hamilton Baldwin.
The images presented are representative of the piece(s) you will receive. When representative images are presented for one of our offerings, you will receive a certificate in similar condition as the one pictured; however dating, denomination, certificate number and issuance details may vary.
From inauspicious beginnings in a small, upstairs room in , the grew to be one of the largest manufacturers and suppliers of pianos and organs in the United States. Baldwin began his business career by selling a few pianos and organs to friends and former students in 1862. Soon he was able to invest $2,000 to found the company which bears his name.
Baldwin and his partners, Lucien and Clarence Wulsin, A. A. Van Buren, and George W. Armstrong, Jr. opened branch offices in other cities outside of Cincinnati. In 1890, they were able to build their own factory, the Baldwin Piano Company, to manufacture pianos. To supplement this production, they received pianos from other suppliers.
In the 1920s Baldwin expanded its product line to player pianos, and thanks to prudent planning by then-president Lucien Wulsin II, the company was able to weather the Depression. After a brief hiatus during World War II when its factories, like many others, were diverted to producing parts, the company returned to a brisk business in musical instruments. In 1946 Baldwin introduced the first electronic organs, which were so successful that the company changed its name in 1953 to Baldwin Piano & Organ Company.