This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ---------------------- multipart/mixed attachment ------=_NextPart_001_000E_01C3A7ED.AB9E6C80 Rob, I truly like this post. It describes exactly what caught me in piano matters. I am restoring now an old Bechstein from 1870, before Germany gathered = into an Empire. I have lots of fun reading the newspaper punchings at = the front rail. Just for fun, I join some pics, but from another = Bechstein, from 1928. Funny to read what was in the air about that = time. St=E9phane Collin (time doesn't respect what you do without it) ----- Original Message -----=20 From: Rob Goodale=20 To: pianotech@ptg.org=20 Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2003 12:08 AM Subject: More on the Broadwood piano Hello everyone. Thanks for all the input on the Broadwood piano. I am continuing my = search for historical information. The Broadwood company still has many = of it's early records from this era and for a fee they will research = their archives for any information. I will be submitting all the = information to see what they may have. In the meantime I have taken = some pictures and will hopefully get them posted here soon. It is truly = a fascinating historic piece, quite a rare and remarkable find. I am = still in disbelief that I have it within my possession, I have never = seen an early piano like this outside of a museum. I have finally pulled the action. It is an amazing design. The = original hammers are all there. The moldings are proportionally very = small and have a unique bulb-ish shape, perhaps rosewood but I'm not = certain. They consists of what appears to be a paper or parchment-like = inner layer followed by a layer of leather and then the outer felt. All = of the parts are original with the exception of a few hammer shanks. = The hammer butts are very small. It is difficult to see the escapement = system without some disassembly which I have not yet done. There are no = independent hammer flanges, rather the butts are all in sections = threaded on a continuos center pin wire, (someone commented on this a = few days ago, I'm not sure who because it's on my other computer at = home). Over all the action is in remarkable condition given it's age. = The two pedals operate the sustain and shift the action. The pedal rods = ride on brass plates instead of in felt bushings. There is evidence = that the bottom of the piano was originally covered with cloth. The name "J. Allatt" is stamped on the bottom of a piece of molding on = the tail section. The name "Lough" with the serial number is neatly = written in a simple calligraphic style on a small white label inside the = key bed. I am assuming these were the head craftsman who built this = piano. There are 18 wound strings totaling 36 strings on the bass = bridge. I have not yet determined if the strings presently on the = instrument are original but my general feeling is that they are not. = The bridges are in remarkably good shape. I have been thinking about the historical significance of this piano. = It was built 20 years before Abraham Lincoln became president. Pianos = were built one at a time by assigned craftsman during this era making = them very expensive. Generally only the more aristocratic would have = been able to afford them. >From this conclusion it is fascinating to = contemplate what it must have been like when this piano was new. Can = you imagine the day this piano was delivered to it's new home? What was = the weather like that day? I picture the parlor of a well-to-do home. = The house was heated only by a fireplace. The floors are wood and the = area rugs would have been made by hand. All lighting was either by = candle or oil lamp. I visualize the well dressed ladies sitting on the = hand crafted chairs, the men in their suits smoking cigars and sipping = brandy while the pianist plays the works of Chopin. The smells from the = cast iron stove in the kitchen fill the house. The only transportation = of the day was on foot, horseback, or by horse drawn carriage which is = what one would hear outside the house on the cobblestone streets of = London. It took three months to cross the Atlantic by sailing ship. = 160 years later this piano is still intact and is living history that = you can actually touch. If it could talk what stories would it tell? = What music did it play? Can you hear the voices of Christmas carols = gathered around it? Amazing isn't it. Ladies and gentlemen THIS is = what makes the business worth all the trouble and is precisely why I = became a piano technician. It's not just the piano, it is also the = living history which embraces it. Rob Goodale, RPT Las Vegas, NV ------=_NextPart_001_000E_01C3A7ED.AB9E6C80 An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/12/5a/80/b6/attachment.htm ------=_NextPart_001_000E_01C3A7ED.AB9E6C80-- ---------------------- multipart/mixed attachment A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 1928-newspaper-front-punchi.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 25897 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/94/65/aa/f1/1928-newspaper-front-punchi.jpg ---------------------- multipart/mixed attachment A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 1928-newspaper-front-punch2.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 48462 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/4d/e4/94/10/1928-newspaper-front-punch2.jpg ---------------------- multipart/mixed attachment--
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