Mornington Piano: Anybody knows about this brand?

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dilfran
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Mornington Piano: Anybody knows about this brand?

Post by dilfran »

A friend of mine recently had an used piano delivered that goes by the name Mornington. In spite of several searches, I could not find any info regarding this brand. ( Not to be confused with Monington &Weston). Has anybody in the forum any info?
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Bill Kibby
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Re: Mornington Piano: Anybody knows about this brand?

Post by Bill Kibby »

I'm glad you mentioned Monington & Weston, because when people ask about "Mornington" it usually transpires that they spelt it wrong.

I have nothing typed up about a firm named Mornington, I had already checked it some time ago, it turned out to be a misspelling. It would help me if you could post photos here of the whole piano, so that I have some idea what sort of thing we are talking about.

It may be that someone wanted it to sound like a more famous name, piano names are often meaningless, as you can read at
http://www.pianohistory.info/names.html

It's always amusing seeing all the things on the internet that are spelt wrong. Try looking for paino or panio.
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Colin Nicholson
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Re: Mornington Piano: Anybody knows about this brand?

Post by Colin Nicholson »

Bill Kibby wrote: It's always amusing seeing all the things on the internet that are spelt wrong. Try looking for paino or panio.
Like 'wold' ? !!

sorry, couldn't resist :<)
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Re: Mornington Piano: Anybody knows about this brand?

Post by Gill the Piano »

My husband is dyslexic so I often get telephone messages left for me about painos or panios!
I play for my own amazement... :piano;
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Re: Mornington Piano: Anybody knows about this brand?

Post by Bill Kibby »

I checked, no sign of a real firm called Mornington so far, but it would help if I knew what sort of period and place to look in.

Have you had a look at my Victorian and Edwardian pages?

http://www.pianohistory.info/victorian.html

http://www.pianohistory.info/edwardian.html

Assuming that this is an upright piano, these may help you.
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Re: Mornington Piano: Anybody knows about this brand?

Post by vernon »

I used to work at Monington and Weston so if you post a pic I may recognise it.
M&W pianos have a picture of the Parthenon cast into the frame if not too old
Our mission in life is to tune customers--not pianos.

Any fool can make a piano-- it needs a tuner to put the music in it

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Re: Mornington Piano: Anybody knows about this brand?

Post by Bill Kibby »

But this isn't a Monington, it is a Mornington - probably a made-up name.
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dilfran
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Re: Mornington Piano: Anybody knows about this brand?

Post by dilfran »

Sorry for not
vernon wrote:I used to work at Monington and Weston so if you post a pic I may recognise it.
M&W pianos have a picture of the Parthenon cast into the frame if not too old
responding earlier. here are some pics I managed to get of the model,...
Attachments
IMG_2886[1].JPG
IMG_2885[1].JPG
IMG_2883[1].JPG
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Re: Mornington Piano: Anybody knows about this brand?

Post by Bill Kibby »

I wish we could see the whole piano. I'm sorry that when I think of history I tend to expect (or hope for) older things, but it's all history. This is a very modern piano, perhaps seventies or eighties, not really my area, but the name is probably a fiction, so perhaps it is Chinese or Korean?

It won't be the only one, so someone out there who deals with retailing must know.

If you want to search for clues under the keys etc. have a look at
http://www.pianohistory.info/datemarks.html

Most internet references are in Austraiia, so perhaps it is connected with Mornington - the place. However, here is a link that says Mornington was made in the UK.
http://thepianocollections.blogspot.co. ... piano.html
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Re: Mornington Piano: Anybody knows about this brand?

Post by vernon »

The cast "badge" seems to say Japan under it and also KK.
I wonder if it an attempt to bamboozle people into to thinking there is some connection to K Kawai the eminent maker?
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Re: Mornington Piano: Anybody knows about this brand?

Post by Colin Nicholson »

just like car manufacturing these days...... looks like a Skoda, but beneath its a VW

begs the question.... where was it delivered from?
The KK badge is almost identical to my piano.... Kawai (I have the K5 model)..... showing the KK initials, and leaf crest.
Underneath the crest will be the serial number (ending with a 4 I see?).... this will date the piano.
The other lettering (inc. JAPAN) are not on all crests.
Unfortunately this has been poorly photographed at an angle, missing out the most important information!

The 'Mornington' badge's gild surround doesn't look anything like the KK gild surround. Kawai frames are more pitted looking, yet this seems to be from a different piano?

try to remove the front panel (undo the LH and RH turnbuckles inside).... and lift it away. Close the fallboard lid first.... then take a photo of the WHOLE inside of the piano, close enough to catch the details. Clear photo with flash. Also look to the right.... it may have the model letter/number? If it was going to be a Kawai piano, then failed the QC checks, it may still be there (e.g. K2).... or sprayed over.... or perhaps this is where the Mornington badge now lives? .... covering up the original model decal.

The serial number (6-7 digits) is the unique code in order for us to date the piano (these numbers don't form a date).
It might be able to be dated according to Kawai's serial numbers.
I suspect that this piano may have failed part of the QC process on the "Kawai" production line, thus renaming it.
Typically stuck on adhesive chrome letters on the fallboard to invent the name "Mornington" in an attempt for it to reflect the London make Monington & Weston. (Why can't they think of their own names?!!)

Also if you pull the piano right out away from the wall, at the back may be another label showing the date/ serial number/ model. This may be stapled to the rear frame in-line with the wrest plank.... just a hunch. May also say Korea/ Japan or even USA..... but definitely not London.

Get in touch with the owner and see if they can provide this info.
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Re: Mornington Piano: Anybody knows about this brand?

Post by Bill Kibby »

To quote my Numbers page, KK could mean K.Kawai, but Kabushiki Kaisha is apparently a general term for a company, a bit like a Japanese version of our “Ltd.”, yet it sometimes appears on its own as if it were a brand name.
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Liza170274
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Re: Mornington Piano: Anybody knows about this brand?

Post by Liza170274 »

I own A mornington. Exact spelling. My dad bought it for me 40 years ago.

It says Herrburgerbrooks Ltd inside
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Re: Mornington Piano: Anybody knows about this brand?

Post by chrisw »

Herrburger Brookes were the people that made the action inside your piano. There is an article about them here.
https://www.piano-tuners.org/herrburger ... index.html
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Re: Mornington Piano: Anybody knows about this brand?

Post by Bill Kibby »

I get the feeling that this forum is turning into facebook, there are so many spelling mistakes. Mornington is a name used on some fairly modern pianos, and the KK suggests that it was made in Japan, but t is not imitating Kawai. The Herrburger Brooks action suggests that it was completed in the UK, so the most likely outcome is that it was assembled in a British factory using Japanese parts.
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