Hugh Hardman

Biography

Hugh Hardman was born at Liverpool, England, in 1815. He came to the United States and began manufacturing pianos in New York City in 1840. Dolge credits his firm as among the first to produce good commercial upright pianos, which met with distinctive success in the market. His son John was admitted to partnership around 1874. In 1880 Leopold Peck bought an interest in the business, and the firm's name changed to Hardman, Peck & Company; under Peck's able management it rose to a recognized position among makers of high-grade pianos, with instruments ranking among the best in the market. From Spillane (1890): Hugh Hardman, described as still living at the time of writing, founded in 1842 the business that manufactured the 'Hardman' pianoforte in New York. The firm passed through several subsequent changes, becoming Hardman, Dowling & Peck and later Hardman, Peck & Company, run by his son John Hardman and Leopold Peck, while Hugh Hardman himself retired from business. Hugh Hardman was among the New York piano-makers whose firm appeared in the trade between 1840 and 1851, a period Spillane identifies as a great evolution in the city's piano business, alongside firms such as Lighte & Newton, J. Fischer, Hazelton & Brothers, and Haines Brothers.

Highlights

• Born at Liverpool, England, in 1815; emigrated to the United States and began making pianos in New York City in 1840.
• His firm was among the first to manufacture good commercial upright pianos, meeting with distinctive success.
• His son John was admitted to partnership about 1874; in 1880 Leopold Peck bought in, forming Hardman, Peck & Company.
• Firm appeared in the New York piano trade between 1840 and 1851
• Founded the business in 1842 that began manufacturing the 'Hardman' pianoforte in New York
• Still living at the time of writing, though retired from business

Sources

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911).

Daniel Spillane, History of the American Pianoforte (1890), pp. 197, 301.

Public domain.