Pierce Interpretation...

[Conrad Hoffsommer]

John,  Jim,
At 15:38 3/30/99 -0500, y'all wrote:

>Using that logic, is it correct to assume that Anderson & Co. produced 45,000 
>pianos in their first year, 1914? 
>John Piesik, RPT

NO.

In a word - marketing.  Inflated serial numbers would sell better.  Would
you rather buy #31 or #45031 if you really didn't know much else about it?

Remember, this is the era where big uprights were routinely called "Upright
Concert Grands" (I have one myself.)

Some manufacturers would start out each year "even" with a round 000, even
if actual production were shy of that amount.  Easier bookkeeping. 

> The 9th edition lists Bord (by Pleyel) as being founded in 1840, it also
>lists the serial No. 1, in 1840, the next listing is for 1845 where the serial 
>number rises to No. 1200.  Now I took/take  this to mean that "Bord" produced 
>one piano in 1840, so that was the last piano produced that year...right? If 
>that reasoning is correct than serial No. 1200 was the last piano produced in 
>1845....right?

My interpretation would be #1 as being the first produced and actually being
honest about it.  Beyond that, the closest you can assume is that #1200 was
produced _sometime_ in (or near) 1845. Without a time machine, or access to
factory records (if they still exist) all you can do is to put a tilde in
front of the year of manufacture. - example: # 845 (~1843)

>   So far, so good......but do the serial numbers reflect actual "units"
>produced or just assigned serial numbers........ in other words if a unit is 
>destroyed in production, or is found to be totally unsuitable for sale, does 
>the serial number just switch to another unit? Or is that number just skipped 
>over?  The plot thickens and I have no answer :-)
>Jim Bryant (FL)

Depending on which mfgr, all of the above.

Conrad Hoffsommer     mailto:hoffsoco@luther.edu

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