Piano of historical value

[Clyde Hollinger]

Friends:

Yesterday I evaluated a piano which _might_ have historical value.  I
would appreciate input from those of you more knowledgeable on this
aspect than I.

The situation:  Unknown at the moment is the piano's value by virtue of
association.  It may have been played a couple times by Fanny Crosby in
a rescue mission setting, or possibly regularly, and may have even been
her personal piano possibly donated to the mission.  If it was Fanny's
personal piano, she would have been about 85 when the piano was new. 
She died at the age of 94.

The person:  For those unfamiliar with hymn writers, Fanny Crosby
(1820-1915) was blind from infancy or early age and is known as the most
prolific hymn writer, having written about 8,000 gospel hymns (the
words, that is -- other people wrote the tunes).  Among the most
well-known are "To God Be the Glory," "All the Way My Savior Leads Me"
and "Jesus Keep Me near the Cross."  Her husband was a blind musician.  

The piano:  1906 Steinway vertical, about 54", SN 121967.  The case
finish and condition are pretty reasonable for its age but it may have
been refinished.  The ivory keytops are original except about five were
replaced and are pretty seriously mismatched, and three are missing. 
About 3-5 original ivories are worn badly enough that the front lip is
partly gone, now having a concave contour.  The strung back all looks OK
including ribs, soundboard, pins reasonably tight, all strings appear to
be original except one (F9), and it is not very far from A440.  

The action is pretty terrible and currently makes the piano unusable. 
Four hammer shanks and one damper lever are broken now.  There are many
replacement parts in the action, including all hammers which are worn
considerably (and even two of _them_ were replaced mismatched), and the
workmanship would embarrass me if I had done it.  Double flanges, which
I have never worked with.  In spite of its poor condition I suppose it
wouldn't cost that much just to get everything moving again.

So much for the facts; I hope I didn't omit anything important.  What
should be the fate of this piano?  I need to know how to advise the
owners.  Here's what I'm leaning toward at the moment:  If the piano has
historical value (reportedly a few people come just to see it), leave
the case mainly as it is.  Replace the five mismatched ivories and the
three missing to give the most authentic appearance, leaving those with
cupped lips intact.  Completely rebuild the action, replacing all moving
parts, since much of it is not original anyway (cost may be a factor). 
Helpful comments?

Clyde Hollinger