<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII" http-equiv=Content-Type> <META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.7600.16722"></HEAD> <BODY style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt" id=role_body bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 rightMargin=7 topMargin=7><FONT id=role_document color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial> <DIV>Hi Jack,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>This is a "reply all" to a very old email....for those interested in listening in, feel free to read the copy below.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Now that I'm working in the Chickering serial number books at the Smithsonian, I can tell you what I've found (or, to be more accurate, haven't found  :) ) about Chickering 5253.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>When you first wrote about dating #5253 I asked for help at the Smithsonian (I didn't have this particular era of numbers in my computer yet) and an SI volunteer searched for 5253 without success.  She said that 5253 was not in the books.  So I didn't write you until I could have a close look myself.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Well, I have just had that look....it turns out that, indeed, there is no record for 5253!  Chickering Book One ends (according to the cover) at 5000.  The numbers are not consecutively entered;  instead, they are probably entered upon the date of sale, and since the pianos have already been entered according to mfg. date, the sale date and serial number data are not consecutive.  OK, so far we're talking about Book One, ending....well, theoretically 5000 (that's what the cover says), but the physically last entry in book one is #4993, while the highest number to be found in book one is  5274 (follow me so far?)</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Book Two serial numbers starting with S/N 5315 ARE entered consecutively.  Serial number 5315 was built in January 1842, and sold June 29.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>So Chickering 5253 may have been built in late 1841.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>It's unfortunate that a lapse in serial numbers exists in the manufacturer log books, but we can at least tentatively conclude from the existence of 5253 that some of these missing numbers represent real pianos, no doubt from the Chickering factory.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Now if you can send along to me any Chickering documents referencing the separate concert grand number series....</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>BTW I just bought a flat-strung scale 33 8' grand for Period Piano Center, #30036 built October 1866, listed in the log book as a "Full Grand."  (Chickering didn't begin entering scale numbers in the books until the 1870s.)</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Regards,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Bill</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT lang=0 size=2 face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10">Bill Shull, RPT, M.Mus.<BR>President, Shull Piano Inc<BR>Director, Period Piano Center<BR>25041 Redlands Blvd<BR>Loma Linda, CA 92354<BR>909 796-4226 bus cell<BR>bdshull@aol.com<BR><A href="http://www.shullpiano.com/">www.shullpiano.com</A><BR><A href="http://www.periodpianos.org/">www.periodpianos.org</A><BR> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> <DIV>In a message dated 11/3/2010 10:43:39 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, JWyatt1492@aol.com writes:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px"><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial><FONT color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial><FONT color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial> <DIV>Hello to All,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>        Bill,  The action is a retro fit with a modern action whip.</DIV> <DIV></DIV> <DIV>   At first I thought the original  action was a early "Brown".</DIV> <DIV>      After getting into the action and keys, and much research</DIV> <DIV>   I now think that the original action was likely an " English Single"   </DIV> <DIV>      It has also been restrung.</DIV> <DIV>    </DIV> <DIV>       My first estimate of the age of 1848 was tied to the Pierce Atlas </DIV> <DIV>   But I  now find in " Clinkscale " (pg.79)  that Chick. Gr.  #6020 was </DIV> <DIV>   dated as 1844. Between  these two numbers 5253 and  </DIV> <DIV>   6020 there were 767 piano made. </DIV> <DIV>      Then we find in "Sumner" (pg.121)  Chickering began overstringing </DIV> <DIV>   in both Grand and uprights in 1845.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>      Now in  " Hollis" pg.92 we find that Chickering started using the</DIV> <DIV>    full iron plates in Grands in 1843. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>      With this information  ( the best I have found at this time) It looks </DIV> <DIV>   as if the year 1844 is a fair estimate when  Ol '' 5253" was made.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>      Can anybody help me out on this ?  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>                Regards to All</DIV> <DIV>                Jack </DIV></FONT></FONT><BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>Ptgf.board mailing list<BR>Ptgf.board@ptg.org<BR>http://ptg.org/mailman/listinfo/ptgf.board<BR></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></FONT></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>