HAMILTON PIANO CO., Est. 1889, with factories at Chicago Heights, Ill. Controlled by the Baldwin Piano Company. Gibson Guitars Guitars acquired the Hamilton name in 2001, when they purchased the Baldwin Piano Co. See Acrosonic or Baldwin for additional numbers. Serial numbers are for the first piano made in year shown.
Piano serial numbers identify the (1) age of your piano, the (2)piano's year of manufacture, as well as (3) the circumstancessurrounding the production of your piano, including factory history,manufacturing processes, and company ownership and oversight.
Starck Piano Serial Number Location
5) Immediate interior [front]: On the back of the [a] keyslip (long wooden ledge, runs along the front/bottom of the piano's keys. The serial number is often hidden and stamped on the other side, facing the keys). On the front of the [b] action frame (after the keyslip is removed), or stamped on [c] one or both of the cheek blocks, viewed to the right and left of the piano's keyboard.
On older pianos, you may find 3-5 screws, underneath the keyslip, that will need to be removed (or, simply lift up, if no screws are present) to view the action frame. The serial number may be stamped on the front of the frame's wooden base, immediately under the keys.
To recap: the piano's serial number when it isn't immediately visible near the 200+ tuning pins or etched onto the soundboard, may be hidden, here (see the video, above, at 3:55 to prceed #1-4; please proceed with caution):
(Please be patient as we are updating this page on a daily basis.We invite you to SUBSCRIBE to this page, and to use the search box above, as serial numbers are beingupdated and added on an ongoing basis.)
The Pierce Piano Atlas, 12th Edition now in hardcoverformat, provides a wealth of information about the piano manufacturingindustry. Over 12,000 piano names are included, some dating back to theearly eighteen hundreds. This guide provides references to serialnumbers, dates of manufacture, factory locations, a brief history ofmany manufacturers and other pertinent information.
I have a Starck full with upright with serial number 61706. Does anyone have any idea when it would have been manufactured? On a side note, it's in great condition, beautiful wood, with a lovely tune.
I have a PA Starck upright player, serial number 84471.It was in a house that my Grandparents vacated in the 50s.I have had it for 20 years, but now no longer need it.I do not know how to try out the player feature. I have player music in a box.Has the matching bench too.As you can see, it is in great condition and sounds wonderful.All of the keys work.Any idea when it was made?Are there any ideas what the best thing is to do with this antique?
Typically, a serial number has 5 to 7 digits, but in some cases, it may have fewer or more and may also include a letter. This is a view of the grand with the lid open and the music desk removed. It may be necessary to clean dust off the harp or soundboard before the serial number can be seen.
Upright or vertical piano serial numbers can usually be found by lifting the lid and looking inside on the gold harp or plate. It is usually not necessary to remove the upper front panel to find the serial number (as in this picture).
By locating the serial number, you can begin your research to know the value of the piano. The first thing the serial number tells you is the age of the piano. Paired with the who made the piano, the age is a key piece of information, and many piano experts can begin to assign a value quickly after assessing the condition and a few other criteria.
When quoting a piano move, the instrument size is extremely important for accurately determining the number of movers and type of equipment needed. Because piano manufacturers differ in their descriptions, the best way to communicate your piano size is to provide a make and model number. Please note that the serial number will not provide the piano size, however, if your piano is going to be picked up or delivered at a business, it may be beneficial to provide your mover with the serial number as well.
Depending upon the brand, the model number can be in different places. The information and images below provide general information and brand specific areas. If you cannot find any serial or model numbers, your piano may have been refurbished and the number plate, if there was one, was not put back on or the number was covered.
Pianos also have other numbers printed on them such as part numbers and many other pianos do not have a serial number at all. Many pianos will have a 4, 5 or 6 digit serial number to identify the age of the piano. Using this number, along with the manufacturer, the age of the piano can sometimes be determined. The areas to look for these numbers vary from each company but here are some common places to look along with some photos.
3. Grand piano serial numbers are placed in many areas as the photos show. There are seven examples but your serial number placement could be in yet a different location and may require some searching.
Of course, a quick fire way to see if your piano--if it's already in working condition--can bring in a nice chunk of change or be worth the trip to the insurance office, is to figure out what brand of piano you have. According to the Antique Piano Shop, you can find manufacturer names and serial numbers for upright pianos inside the piano itself, towards the top of the strings. For grand pianos, you'll want to look at the soundboard and the top of each leg or pedal lyre for its brand.
In general, the older the upright or grand piano, the more valuable it's going to be. Now, you'll be able to date most pianos within a few years using the serial numbers you find, as these dates will give you a good estimate of what your piano might end up being worth.
You may have found our website after a fruitless internet search trying to find information on your accordion's brand name. Perhaps you're thinking you have a rare and valuable accordion because you can't find out anything about it - unfortunately, that's probably not the case. In the "Golden Age" of accordion manufacturing in Italy (the mid 1900s), there were literally hundreds of accordion companies and brand names making instruments. Though a handful of them are still in operation, most stopped manufacturing decades ago, and there is little historical information available about these companies. Your accordion may even have a serial number, but in most cases there are no records for tracking these numbers.
There are a number of hidden costs that might not be apparent when it comes to a free or cheap one-hundred-year-old upright or even a grand. The first is moving. Old, full-size upright pianos can weigh nearly 700 lbs. and are harder to move than a grand. Awkward in size and weight, these instruments require a qualified piano moving team to safely remove, transport, and set up the piano at its new home. Asking a couple of buddies to help you move it will not suffice, and likely will cause more damage to the piano and potential injury to those attempting to move it.
Although a number of companies such as Steinway & Sons and Mason & Hamlin put out some of their finest work during this period, a large number of piano builders flooded the market with hastily assembled or badly engineered upright/vertical instruments to meet the high market demand. Well over 300 piano makers were in simultaneous operation within the United States alone. Due to this, hundreds of thousands of mass-produced upright pianos were built, flooding the market. Even if full rebuilds were completed (costing north of $10,000.00) the result of restoring these old pianos would not be more than average. Churned out of factories in exceedingly high numbers, the average upright was never a concert-level piano, to begin with.
So, what's it worth? If you haven't figured it out by now, you need theservices of a profession technician who will charge about $60.00 to $80.00 anhour for his talents. Frankly, that's a lot less expensive than just two of themain reference books that any qualified technician has in his office and mostgood technicians have dozens of books. Have we got the time to do all theresearch for free? Frankly, No! ...It's best if you hire a professionalrebuilder and have him perform a complete evaluation. If you have the Name ofthe Manufacturer, the Serial Number and the unit'sGeneral Condition, i.e., working or non-working player mechanism, appearance, etc.,then visit the Blue Book of Pianoswebsite and write to Bob Furst. He has collected quite a bit of informationabout numerous piano companies. The MMDArchives has a number of articles from various members about the prices paidby individuals in private sales and at various auctions. Do a Key Word Searchfor: Price,Auctionor Sell. Read this article by noted author Art Reblitz: Values of AutomaticPianos and Organs. Read this article by Craig Brougher of "BrougherRestorations" TheValue of a Pneumatic player Piano.
This is a partial list of piano manufacturers. Most piano professionals have access to detailed information about these brands using a Piano Atlas to reference serial numbers, which are used to determine a piano's age using the year a piano was built. This information is often used in piano appraisals.
Did you know that there were over 1000 piano manufacturers in America during the turn of the 20th century? Today there is only one of significance; Steinway & Sons. Most American piano factories were located on the eastern seaboard between Washington DC and Boston. There were many tens of thousands of pianos built between 1890 and 1940 and a number of those pianos still survive today in some form.
Estey cabinet grand piano serial number 21261, approx. 65" x 28" x 54" tall, includes piano bench with sheet music including Musical History of the United States for Girls and Boys, The Etude, A Tune A Day A First Book, Alfred d'Auberge Piano Course, A Dozen A Day, etc. This lot is located on the first floor and may need to be disassembled for removal. The buyer is responsible to bring all the proper tools, equipment, and help for the proper and safe removal. 2ff7e9595c
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