The Builders" - Longfellow
| THE building where the Mason & Hamlin is made is not a factory in the ordinary sense.
To be sure one will find there the marvelous machinery and the scientific methods of discovering the
vibrant quality of woods, the tensile strength of wire, the density or resisting power of this or that
material which, wrought into its appointed form by skilled hands, takes its place as a part of the
Mason & Hamlin, but the atmosphere of the sunny rooms of this building is that of a great laboratory
or studio where an organization of craftsmen perform their daily tasks with a devotion and pride that
finds but few parallels in modern industry. The men who make the Mason & Hamlin are
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passionate seekers of perfection. It is not incongruous to say
that it is the product of a concept of art as pure and lofty as has ever been brought to the
creation of any other masterpiece. The oldest, active worker in years of service has devoted over
forty-two years of his life to the building of these instruments. Many others, now at the heads of
their respective departments, have served from a quarter of a century to thirty-seven years, and
there are the younger members of this industrial family, essential to a continued vitality for the
future, who have acquired, through close association, the high ideals and intensive knowledge of
these older artisans.
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