[pianotech] Stumped (at least I am)

Cliff Lesher lesher at dejazzd.com
Tue Mar 10 16:52:07 PDT 2009


Duaine,

 From The Piano Book (the red one):  "In 1985 Wurlitzer purchased the  
Chickering name and all the assets of Aeolian Pianos' Memphis factory  
when that company went out of business.  For several years Wurlitzer  
produced a line of Chickering consoles and studios and a 'budget'  
line of Jonas Chickering spinets and consoles.  The Jonas Chickerings  
were basically no-frills, entry-level pianos with laminated maple  
soundboards..."

My guess is that the piano you serviced today was one of these,  
manufactured between 1985 and 1995.  Another guess is that Wurlitzer  
may have tried to number these in the ballpark of the Aeolian Winter  
serial number sequence.  Aeolian-Winter-Memphis sernos only go  
through 1982  (~450000+) in Pierce.  However, the Memphis plant  
closed in 1985, which may mean that the very last, undocumented  
serial numbers were in the high 400000's.  Maybe Wurlitzer picked it  
up at 500000 and continued with this sequence until Baldwin came  
along in 1995.

Cliff Lesher
Winfield, PA


On Mar 10, 2009, at 4:31 PM, Duaine & Laura Hechler wrote:

> Today, I serviced a spinet Jonas-Chickering - s/n 511355
>
> Where in the atlas do I find it's date and history?
>
> Thanks, Duaine
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