Who's the Manufacturer ?

Ask questions on piano history and the age of your piano.

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Alcino
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Who's the Manufacturer ?

Post by Alcino »

Good afternoon,
I recently acquired an upright piano with no manufacturer name.
Here you can see few detailed pictures of it.

https://youtu.be/CYos3Kve1sY

I looked around the piano and established that the serial nr. is 142553. The cast iron frame is branded HC&S 370. The logo of the cast iron manufacturer clearly shows 2 english flags. Looking on internet it came out that the serial nr. 142500 appears to be belonging to a german manufacturer called Bluthner. Year of manuf 1975. However inside the piano keys some past tuners did presumably note down the year when they have been tuned/replaced the actions. Earliest one appears to have been done in 1941. Hence cannot possibly be a Bluthner furthermore with an English iron frame! Somewhere else I found that a US manufacturer called CABLE, HOBART M. based at the time in Indiana manufactured in 1937 pianos with the 142500 serial nr. Yet I am not convinced that a US manufacturer would import english iron frames to build a piano. I feel kind of stuck with my quest.
I would be really greatful if your knowledge would help me out identifying my piano manufacturer and related year.
Many thanks
N.
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Bill Kibby
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Re: Who's the Manufacturer ?

Post by Bill Kibby »

I'm sorry, you just can't work that way with numbers, everybody uses normal numbering, so there could be hundreds of different makes that used that number at different times, so without the maker's name, numbers have no value. The HC&S mark clearly defines it as British, as shown on my page at
http://www.pianohistory.info/datemarks.html

That page contains other clues for you. It looks like a normal, typical upright of the twenties, perhaps around 1921, as shown at
http://www.pianohistory.info/edwardian.html
Piano History Centre
http://pianohistory.info
Email via my website.
If you find old references or links on this site to pianogen.org, they should refer to pianohistory.info
Alcino
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Re: Who's the Manufacturer ?

Post by Alcino »

Bill many thanks fot your kind reply. I shall read in details the link you suggested and come back maybe with more clues and questions. Yet i fail to understand why some manufacturers in the past did not mark their pianos... In a very recognisable way. 'The mistery thickens. Thank you N
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Bill Kibby
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Re: Who's the Manufacturer ?

Post by Bill Kibby »

It is a very common mystery, the names usually disappear when a piano is repolished. Originally, it would all have been the same colour polish, hiding all those different timbers and grains.
Piano History Centre
http://pianohistory.info
Email via my website.
If you find old references or links on this site to pianogen.org, they should refer to pianohistory.info
vernon
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Re: Who's the Manufacturer ?

Post by vernon »

and hiding the knots and cracks and old bits of firewood used occasionally.
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

www.lochnesspianos.co.uk
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