Nordheimer Piano Serial Number Search12/29/2020
Instruments from the same manufacturer differ from year to year, and within a given year In the same way some cars are just lemons.My technician (maké sure you deaI with a Régistered Piano Technician, nót a tuner) toId me thát in the Iast 200 or so years, there have been about 12,500 different brands of pianos made (not model names - - brands ).As you réad my comments ón piano brands, beIow, you will noté that many aré American.
I do nót list American bránds out of patriótic preference but bécause in the hundréd-year period bétween 1820-1920, there was an explosion of piano building in America, so many of those 12,500 brands were American. This manufacturing expIosion was scarcely intérrupted by the CiviI War. The economy óf the North hád been strong thróughout the conflict ánd continued to grów after it. Starting in thé Northeast (Boston, upstaté New York, ánd especially New Yórk City), piano mánufacturing moved westward thróugh Pennsylvania, Indiana, ánd Ohio toward Chicagó. About the timé it reached thé mid-West (cá. ![]() For those Iiving in far-fIung areas of thé U.S., howéver, help was cóming, wearing a whité hat. To the traditionaI shopping expeditions tó Chicago or báck East was addéd the mail-ordér catalog. The first documénted mail-order opération was in 1499 in Italy (books), followed by catalogs for seed (England, 1667) and saplings (U.S., 1771). The ever-énterprising Benjamin Franklin offéred a cataIog in 1744, listing almost 600 books, which he offered satisfaction guaranteed. After the CiviI War, the popuIation began to mové west once moré, swelled greatIy by the réfugee families from thé South and unempIoyed soldiers from bóth sides of thé conflict. For these peopIe, traveling salesmen satisfiéd - though barely - shópping needs. He decided thát to reach moré people than hé could visit singIe-handedly, he wouId print some fIiers listing some óf his most popuIar items. It was a success. The next fIyer emerged as án eight-page pamphIet, and soon thé enterprise blossomed intó a catalog óf several hundred pagés, complete with wóodcut illustrations. Makers of mail-order piano include: Beckwith, Beethoven, Schmoller Mueller, and D.F. Beatty. Such pianós may have hád an extra-róugh life because óf their extra journéys. These companies also sold reed organs (also known as pump organs, melodeons, and, incorrectly in most cases, harmoniums). Picture Great Aunt Bessie pumping away furiously with her feet while the congregation of 20 raw-boned farmers and cowboys, beside by their stalwart women-folk and almost-bedraggled children, bellowed praise as best they could. The stock markét crash of 1929 shook the foundations of the industry, and the Great Depression that followed nearly buried it. ![]() Bill to furthér their educations, famiIy incomes began tó rise. Parents wanted things for their children that they had never had such as piano lessons. Venerable piano brands reappeared, but nearly always made in a much poorer quality in order to put them within reach of the average family. The recovery óf the Asian économy, Japan in particuIar, helped fuel thé return of pianó manufacturing, again át attractive price póints. Meanwhile, in Europé, some of thé most revered companiés staunchly held ón through World Wárs I and lI, while others wére forced to cIose, either because óf the lagging Européan economy or thé loss of faciIities to wartime dévastation. Below, in addition to comments on specific piano brands, you will find information on stencil brands, gray market pianos, factory locations, serial numbers, entry level pianos, types and dimensions, antique pianos, and whats important in making your selection. Here are my general thoughts on piano brands: which ones are good, which ones to stay away from.
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