Leonard Leipzig, 85 key piano

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BNE

Leonard Leipzig, 85 key piano

Post by BNE »

The attachment Nameplate.jpg is no longer available
Struggling to unravel the history of an upright piano that has been in my family since the 1940s, and hoping someone here can help!
[Rest assured that I am under no illusions of any value, and indeed it has been quite neglected over the past several decades. But huge sentimental value to me as the piano I played as a child at my grandmother's house.....]

The piano is located in Brisbane, Australia, and I will be visiting it over Christmas to make a decision about its future. Pragmatically, it would seem to be best to let it go - however, I would like to know its origin as closure.

I cannot find the maker name "Leonard" in any archive lists, so assuming it is a stencil piano? It was gifted to my grandfather (in Brisbane) in the mid 1940s by an English family. The assumption is that it had travelled to Australia from the UK as part of a household move.

Still obtaining photos of details, and will be able to check more when I am there, including interior search. The panelling featured 3 ovals, with left and right panels showing screw holes indicating that originally it had sconces (which were long gone when I first met it almost 50 years ago).

I would be very grateful for any information or links - it is a great mystery to me that with the myriad substantial lists of brand names that abound on the internet, I cannot find a single reference!
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Bill Kibby
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Re: Leonard Leipzig, 85 key piano

Post by Bill Kibby »

My Names page at pianohistory.info explains that many piano names are meaningless, and fake German names are common.

7 octaves (85 notes) is the most common range for antique pianos. Lots of them were still made when I was selling them in the sixties.

What I would like to see is what the whole piano looks like.

Your best hope with an old German piano is that if your tuner feels it is safe to remove the action (the working parts of the notes) it may be marked on the back with the action makers' name and number, and I may be able to date this.
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
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