[pianotech] 1904 Starr Upright

[John Formsma]

The Starr uprights here in Mississippi are all "toast" just from our
weather cycles. I can't remember for sure if I've seen one from the early
1900's, but the later ones I'd definitely consider on the lower end for
durability since they were always dead on my arrival. They maybe were
mid-grade at one time, but I'd group them in with all the other many
uprights of their time. Lots of design copying going on back then....

The owner is nuts to think it would even be closer to a Steinway M. Quote
me on that if you want to. :-)

-- 
John Formsma, RPT
Blue Mountain, MS


On Tue, Jun 26, 2012 at 1:17 AM, Rob McCall <rob at mccallpiano.com> wrote:

> Greetings,
>
> I was called in to do an appraisal for what was supposed to have been
> smoke damage on a 1904 Starr Upright (Made in Indiana).  I'll let the
> photos speak for themselves as to the level of "smoke" damage.  :-)
>
> They said that when they went to move the piano out of the house, it fell
> apart on them.  No surprise there, given that the piano was on fire and the
> fire department had to put it out.  These pictures are more for your
> amusement... :-)
>
> My real question is this...  They want to know what it would cost to
> replace this piano with an identical 1904 Starr upright for insurance
> purpose, and what might be a comparable upright today. I have a pretty good
> idea of the various grades the new upright could be, but I'm not sure where
> this piano stood in it's day as far as the quality and prestige of the
> piano.
>
> So would this piano have been at the lower end, middle or higher end of
> the spectrum?  I'm guessing one of the first two by appearances but I
> wanted to appeal to the group as a whole to get a collective idea. Anyone
> have any Starr experience?
>
> Either way, I know it's not much, but I wanted to make sure I got it
> right... The owner is claiming it's worth enough for me to go out and buy a
> brand new Steinway M...  :-)
>
> Regards,
>
> Rob McCall
>
>
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