At 23:34 -0700 27/4/10, Joseph Garrett wrote:
>A (new) customer called me today saying she had just acquired a very old
>Kirchman parlor grand piano. Her own research yielded a model number of S -
>R1, (cast in the plate), and a serial number of 14008, (stamped in the
>wood). But that's where it ends. And it is not listed in Pierce. She says
>she was told by the previous owner that Kirchman was manufactured, in
>Boston, for a very short time in the early 1900's by two former employees of
>Steinway. Has anyone here ever heard of it? Can anyone shed any light?
>
>As far as I can ascertain, it's an English pianer!
It is Kirkman. Number 14008 will probably be early 1860s before they
changed to higher tensions and the "modern" sound. What do you want
to know about it? I have most of the answers and several Kirkmans of
different periods. Kirkman was the best English maker in my opinion
but their best pianos were made slightly later after they changed to
the higher tension scales, cast-iron plates etc. This one will be a
bit old-fashioned in sound. They are nice to work on and very
consistent.
JD
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