[pianotech] Old Janssen piano

J. Stanley Ryberg jstan40 at sbcglobal.net
Mon Jul 19 13:40:34 MDT 2010


On Sun, Jul 18, 2010 at 8:53 PM, Sy Zabrocki <sypianoguy at bresnan.net> wrote:






I was out on a Montana ranch tuning a nice old Janssen upright. Hanging on 
the wall above the piano was an unusual framed picture. It was a photo of this 
1913 crated Janssen piano being delivered by horse and wagon in the winter. 

 
Check out the attachment.
 
Notice the sturdy wood crate. The piano came by rail and the last 18 miles 
by horse and wagon. The young boy in the horse grew up to be the father or 
grandfather (not sure) of the lady who still owns the piano. The white house is 
still there but has an addition. 
 
This family is very attached to this piano. The lady was kind enough to 
scan the photo and send me a copy.
Sy Zabrocki-RPT


The Williams & Sons upright piano sitting just behind me as I write this has a similar story to tell...though not as long a train ride.  My grandfather, a country preacher in central Illinois at the time, bought it new in 1913, coincidentally...and it was shipped downstate by train, then the last few miles by horse-drawn wagon in just such a crate.  It traveled later (in that crate) around North Dakota and Minnesota, ending up with my part of the family in about 1950 (though that crate, having been used as a fort by my uncles, was long since reduced to kindling wood).  It came to me in about 1982 and now shares a room with a 1914 S&S "O."  The old upright enjoys the distinction of never having been resold...as does that Janssen in the picture!

Stan Ryberg 
Barrington IL 
jstan40 at sbcglobal.net
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