The 'Empire' piano name was manufactured and sold by the William A. Pond Piano Company of New York City. Established in 1871, Pond manufactured pianos, organs, and various musical instruments such as woodwind, guitars, and band instruments. In addition, he was a publisher of sheet music and was apparently very successful. The William A. Pond Company enjoyed a stellar reputation among pianists, singers, and musicians of the day, and his instruments were known for being of substantial quality and fair value. The extant William A. Pond pianos we have restored in our shop have suggested that his pianos were indeed of very good quality overall. Pond became affiliated with the United Piano Makers Piano Company after the turn-of-the-century. The firm was out of business well before the Great Depression.