Verner Lassen 1853-1883

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

Moderators: Feg, Gill the Piano, Bill Kibby

Post Reply
Valiant
New Member
New Member
Posts: 2
Joined: 05 Aug 2016, 23:22

Verner Lassen 1853-1883

Post by Valiant »

Hello Everyone,

Came across this forum and wondered if I could find any help with this piano I'm thinking of purchasing.

Trying to find the possible year this upright or square piano might have been built and possible value, all the keys play

and does not seem to be overly damaged, seems mostly cosmetic wear and a few nicks and scratches.

Any info, help or opinions would be greatly appreciated. I have a short window of opportuninty to pick it up and can't decide

till I know more about it. Being half Danish and a love for history is why I'm interested in the piece.

Thanks Val
Attachments
IMG_2197.JPG
IMG_2187.JPG
IMG_2185.JPG
IMG_2184.JPG
IMG_2176.JPG
Barrie Heaton
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 3601
Joined: 30 May 2003, 20:42
Location: Lanc's
Contact:

Re: Verner Lassen 1853-1883

Post by Barrie Heaton »

Very nice looking piano. However, we can not put a value on a piano without seeing it and pianos of that age are more difficult as they are a collectors piece.

I have moved this to the history section, Bill may be able to tell you something about its history

Barrie
Barrie Heaton
Web Master UK Piano Page
User avatar
Bill Kibby
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 5684
Joined: 04 Jun 2003, 19:25
Location: Lincolnshire UK
Contact:

Re: Verner Lassen 1853-1883

Post by Bill Kibby »

It is interesting to see another of his pianos, I show one of his grands at
http://www.pianohistory.info/grand.html

This is a square piano, although an unusual shape, and general information on them may be found at
http://www.pianohistory.info/square.html

I am sorry that because Lassen never published any detailed information, I have no way of giving a definite date for the piano, my active research is aimed at antique British pianos, and I have no funding for foreign research, so anything that turns up is a matter of luck. My guess would be around 1866, but the name is shown differently to the 1867-style grand.

How did you arrive at the date range? Are there any numbers inside?

The most important factor deciding the value of a piano is its condition, and the most important aspect of that is whether it holds in tune, because repinning and restringing will cost over a thousand pounds, and this is usually more than an old piano is worth. Nobody can guess the value or condition of a piano without inspecting it on the spot, and tuning it, so your local tuner is the best person to ask about that.

Here in Britain, where antique pianos are plentiful, unrestored ones have very little value, and I am offered several each year for nothing. If you delivered it to my door, I might offer you £34 as a display piece.
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
Valiant
New Member
New Member
Posts: 2
Joined: 05 Aug 2016, 23:22

Re: Verner Lassen 1853-1883

Post by Valiant »

Thanks you for your help guys. I appreciate it! The only info I could find was from a refrence from the book shown below, I also came across your web site Bill and the Danish website below, all giving the date range. As far as getting this thing down to your store... Im all the way in Southern California across the pond :) Just looking through this site I realize there is an endless amount of labor, love and expert knowledge required to bring one of these beautiful works of art and ingenuity back to life. If I had the finances I would probably pursue it just to learn something newand challenging. Cheers and Thank you for your time.

Val
Attachments
Screen Shot 2016-08-07 at 9.14.52 AM.png
Screen Shot 2016-08-07 at 9.13.32 AM.png
Screen Shot 2016-08-07 at 9.13.04 AM.png
User avatar
Bill Kibby
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 5684
Joined: 04 Jun 2003, 19:25
Location: Lincolnshire UK
Contact:

Re: Verner Lassen 1853-1883

Post by Bill Kibby »

I was just hoping you had found some independent confirmation of the dates from an original source. It would be interesting to know if there are any numbers in your piano anyway.
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
Post Reply