[beaker65]

We just purchased an upright piano. The inside says Heintzman & Co. Toronto, yet the front only reads Heintzman. There is a number inside ..59763.

Could anyone tell me approximately how old this piano would be? It needs a lot of work on the outside and we would like to know what it is supposed to look like before we try working on it.

Do you think it's reasonable to assume that we can "restore" this piano ourselves? We don't want to re-sell it, just get it looking nice enough on the outside so that we can display it.

Any information or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Teresa

[Bill Kibby]

The number suggests 1919. Whether you can restore the case is not something anyone can answer for you. What counts is checking whether the instrument is tuneable and playable before work or expense is wasted.
_________________
I do not buy, sell or value pianos, but I sometimes rescue pre-1890 pianos in the UK.

For more details see my own website: http://www.pianogen.org

Piano History Centre

The World's Largest Collection of
Historical Information about British Pianos.

[beaker65]

Thanks for the reply Bill...it's great to know what year it's from!

It is definately playable and tunable. It was delivered yesterday morning and I played it last night. I could probably use a tune but otherwise it sounded great. All the keys are in perfect condition with no chips or anything.

We purchased it from a school board so the inside has been kept up. Just the outside has been messed up...you know high school kids...haha.

We just don't even know where to start to look at how to fix it up. We're not carpenters but we're willing to try. Since we're not looking to re-sell it I'm not sure about whether it needs to be done exactly for it's time period.

Thanks again!

Teresa