[tamsinbish]

Hello there. I have a lovely upright piano which says Millard London on the inside cover of the keyboard and then has Lyon & Hall, Brighton transferred onto it on the right. The L&H number is: 201495. On the other side of the top cover is another number: 5567. I can find only a tiny amount about Lyon & Hall, and nothing at all about Millard. The chap who came to tune the piano said he thought that the mechanism was early 19th century. I wonder if you can help me track down a more specific date? Thanks,

Tamsin

[Bill Kibby]

I will see what I can find about Millard, we have no record of them at all in the 1800s. Lyon & Hall were in Brighton from at least the 1860s to the 1950s, so that name doesn't help, and we have no dates of their stock numbers.
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I do not buy, sell or value pianos, but I sometimes rescue pre-1890 pianos in the UK.

Have a look at the Datemarks page on my own website: http://www.pianogen.org

Piano History Centre

[tamsinbish]

Thanks - I'll look forward to hearing from you.

As I say, the tuner felt that perhaps the interior of the piano was older than the casing and that it had maybe been given a new body at some point. Is that likely or possible?

By the way - just wanted to say what a great site / forum this is. It's really helpful.

[Bill Kibby]

It wouldn't be given a complete "new body", but many old pianos have been modernized to some extent. The case is an integral part of the instrument, you can't just remove it. I can't imagine what the tuner meant by an early 19th century upright action, most types that were there in the early 1800s were still there in the late 1800s! Any chance you could email me some photos?
_________________
I do not buy, sell or value pianos, but I sometimes rescue pre-1890 pianos in the UK.

Have a look at the Datemarks page on my own website: http://www.pianogen.org

Piano History Centre