<HTML>Hi Ed, I agree with Dale about this.  Here in Southern California an 1890'= s Steinway upright might still have a decent pinblock if the piano lived in = this climate most of its life, similar to the piano Dale restored.  A f= ew real clean examples exist, valuing those is tough since they are so nice,= and should fetch more, perhaps quite a bit more.... Original bass strings can be incredible on a Steinway, with even the ste= el-wound strings coming out great after turning, a rare event for that type = of winding.   Yes, "ebonized" was common in 19th century pianos, if the plate is clean= and undamaged the word will be stamped.  Also the Steinway log will sa= y (sadly, one volume was stolen from Steinway recently, and wasn't photocopi= ed, a terrible loss).   Bill Shull Shull Piano Inc. 590 E Industrial Rd 2 San Bernardino, CA  92408 (909) 796-4226 In a message dated 4/19/04 6:24:29 PM Pacific Daylight Time, Erwinspiano= @aol.com writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-= LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">hi Ed  Don't panic yet.  I paid $250.00 for an 1891 from the Mantec= a unified school district about 8 years ago. It was Bahama yellow with prett= y flowers & about to fall over. Its is the one with a myriad of ogees el= egant three piece front & the round fluted legs. The block, board & = many things were quite good. The board has a lot of crown still. Amazing.Res= trung with 3s or 4s,refinish,yes in original ebony, replace the missing thre= e piece cut outs new keytops. Very beautiful looking& sounding. If I did= this today I'd ask 15 k.   My opinion is that stwy uprights like this are worth anywhe= re between $500.000 to $1500.00 in original & unbutchered condition. Hey= do the math on the items needed then speculate on the Market value in your = area.hmmm.  Dale Erwin <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-= LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Dear List- I'm dealing with a difficult situation with a customer who has purcha= sed an 1892 Steinway vertical on Ebay. The piano has been restrung in the plain wire and repinned in the bas= s, "turning the bass strings."  The repinning was done with 4/0 pins wi= th apparently no preparation of the holes in the pinblock.  Pin torque = varies wildly, with many high treble pins over 225 inch pounds.  I cann= ot imagine now how to restring properly without replacing the pinblock. &nbs= p; Raising pitch 80 cents and tuning was miserably difficult, perhaps tu= ning will be manageable when the strings have stabilized....? Refinishing is a thin black lacquer (were 1890's verticals done in eb= ony?), and the brass lock plate and pedals have been carefully polished.</FO= NT> Hammers have been re-shaped past regulation, key pins turned in the f= ront bushings, and key covers glued to fit the notch, with the tips overhang= ing, and no shaping. The customer had hopes of buying a piano that would become a family h= eirloom.  The seller told her the old bass strings were so good that th= ey didn't need replacement, and that she could eventually complete the resto= ration with new hammers and dampers. I would be interested in your opinions of what is the going value of = an 1892 Steinway vertical, rebuilt to very good playing and tuning condition= , and what the purchase price of the instrument as it is should be.<F= ONT COLOR="#000000" BACK="#ffffff" style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" = SIZE=3 PTSIZE=12 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0"> Also I would appreciate your comments on the pinblock. Thank you very much. Ed Sutton </BLOCKQUOTE> Erwins Pianos Restorations 4721 Parker Rd. Modesto, Ca 95357 209-577-8397 Rebuilt Steinway , Mason &Hamlin Sales www.Erwinspiano.com </BLOCKQUOTE> </HTML>