I told someone yesterday that the cut-off portion of an old Upright, where they added the mirror, did not degrade the structure of the piano. I still believe that, but I wanted to confirm it with others. She found this online, not I don't think to argue against my point, but just as an anecdote:<br>
<br><i>"During World War 2, American piano manufacturers ceased production to
assist in the war effort. Rationing made it impossible to build a piano
during those years, so piano tuners and rebuilders saw a golden
opportunity to keep up with the public's demands by introducing the
"mirror piano". They simply took a large old upright, often a gutted
player piano, cut a step-shelf along the top, and secured a mirror
across the exposed back so that the piano had the appearance of being
smaller or more modern. These "re-styled" pianos became very popular
during the war, and unfortunately this trend continued for another 30
years. Hundreds of thousands of heirloom pianos were butchered during
these years, and they are still commonly encountered. Because
irreparable damage was done to the integrity of the instrument, mirror
pianos are seldom worth more than a few hundred dollars at best." </i><br><br>Are we all in agreement that the "irreparable damage" is cosmetic only?<br>