Fox Piano Co.

[Marshall Connolly]

Jay:

It seems that it is quite possible that it was either Aeolian, or another
manufacturer of stencil pianos.  I encountered another "fluke" the other
day.  It was a grand that had a plate bolted down to a "universal" plate
which, like everything else screamed Everett about the piano.  Although it
was a C. C. Harvey, less the decal and added plate denotation, this piano
was an Everett through and through.  Plate, stringing, action, cabinet
design, and EVERYTHING was Everett (circa. 1935-1939) and probably the first
C.C. Harvey grand (among many marginal uprights & players) that I have
encountered in 25 years!

Stencils weren't always as horrible as we expect.  It was my experience that
this was the BEST C.C. Harvey that I had ever encountered.  In a situation
such as yours, I would look for other defining characteristics of the piano
(case, scale, action, etc.) to help you determine the actual manufacturer.
You might even enjoy the research and have a "quaint and unique" story about
the history that will endear the owner even more.  I've never heard of the
name (though C.C. Harvey has a one-line listing with NO info.) FOX Piano--
perhaps it was built for a furniture store or something?  Perhaps it was a
stencil for a piano dealer in the city and state listed- or even a music
store.

Whew, I guess that is what makes our work interesting!

Regards,

Marshall Connolly
Connolly's Center for Piano Wellness
New Bedford, MA
falcone1132 at tmlp.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Porritt, David" <dporritt at mail.smu.edu>
To: "Pianotech List" <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Friday, September 29, 2006 1:38 PM
Subject: RE: Fox Piano Co.


> Jay:
>
> It's hard to tell.  I do know that Gulbransen put those
> Merchants/Manufacturer's stickers on most of their uprights but I'm sure
> those organizations had more than one member!
>
> dp
>
> David M. Porritt
> dporritt at smu.edu
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On
> Behalf Of Jay Forte
> Sent: Friday, September 29, 2006 11:45 AM
> To: Pianotech List
> Subject: Fox Piano Co.
>
> Greetings;
>
> I'm in the middle of refinishing "grandma's" piano for a customer.
> What I am in need of is some help in identifying who manufactured this
> piano for Fox pianos.
> I  believe it was a stencil piano. My thoughts are it could have been
> made by Aeolian, Cable, Gulbransen, Conn, Kohler , etc.
> I need to put a decal back on when it is finished, so I would like to
> at least be accurate with the manufacture's decal.
> I know I could get a custom decal for this old box, but maker is
> probably close enough.
> The only clue I have in I.D. is the sticker on the back. I know I've
> seen this before on others I've serviced, but I just can't remember who
> used it.
> Of course, I could always make it a S&S : >.
>
> Thanks to all;
> Jay Forte'
>
>
>
>
>