Wessell, Nickel & Gross began in 1874 with three friends

Otto Wessell, Adam Nickel, and Rudolph Gross. Each of them was an accomplished piano action maker that worked for Steinway & Sons, however, one of the friends—Otto Wessell—wasn’t satisfied with being constrained by Steinway’s assembly lines. He and his friends were full of ideas and innovations on how to improve the piano action, but they weren’t able to experiment or capitalize them because they worked for Steinway. Knowing this, and confident in his and his friends’ abilities, Otto convinced Adam and Rudolph to leave Steinway to create their own piano action company—Wessell, Nickel & Gross.

From the outset, Wessell, Nickel & Gross focused on quality and incorporating its many innovations and improvements into its actions. The friends lovingly treated each action as a work of art; Otto was so proud of them and their craftsmanship that he personally delivered the actions to their customers. Word about WNG’s quality and innovations quickly spread from impressed regulators and finishers who had the opportunity to work on their actions and before long, Wessell, Nickel, & Gross had established a reputation for crafting superior piano actions. With this newfound (and well-deserved) fame, orders began to pile up, and Wessell, Nickel & Gross expanded their factory, hired many new employees, and developed specialized machines and techniques to build their actions more efficiently.

Throughout its expansion, Wessell, Nickel & Gross continued its tradition of innovation and quality, and the name “Wessell, Nickel & Gross” expanded beyond the United States and became world-renowned and synonymous with the highest possible quality piano action available. During this prosperous time, WNG supplied actions to many famous

piano manufacturers such as: Mason & Hamlin, Knabe, Ivers & Pond, J & C Fischer, Mehlin, Julius Bauer, Everett, Hallet & Davis, Star, Strohbert, Stieff, Packard, Mayland, Bush & Lane, Gabler, Heintzman, Bush & Gertz, Hardman, Conover, Wheelock, Phragmatone, Behning and Son, and Steinert.

Unfortunately, Wessell, Nickel & Gross’ success didn’t last forever, and during the Great Depression it, as well as many other piano and piano-related companies, was forced out of business. WNG was then absorbed into Aeolian Piano Corporation and ceased to be an independent company. While under Aeolian’s ownership, Wessell, Nickel & Gross was obligated to stop supplying actions to piano manufacturers outside of Aeolian’s corporation, and sadly, their quality suffered.