The Nunns brothers Robert and William emigrated from London England in 1821 to New York City where they established a piano factory at 96 Broadway. In later years the company became known as Nunns and Clark and remained a principal builder of pianos in the city. It was in this shop that Willem Steinweg received his introduction to American piano building and who in 1853 became one of the founders of the Steinway company. In fact, they then bought the Nunns and Clark factory and Nunns and Clark relocated.
The square piano was a hot item in the 1800’s. It was more affordable than the grand piano and outsold it nine to one in North America. Square pianos were built between 1740 and 1890 when the upright piano gained favour for use in the home and took over the production space in factories. Due to inherent structural difficiencies, square pianos were difficult to maintain, so very few squares are now found in playing condition.
Nunns Square Piano 