Hello Fellow Technicians - I am new to the field & have a question about finding out the manufacture date of a piano I own. I do in fact have a copy of Pierce Piano Atlas - FYI. I own a Chickering baby grand built in Boston, Massachusetts. The serial # is 1742. Pierce Piano Atlas says that is was made between 1830 & 1835. Becuase the Boston factory burned down, I suppose I would have to find a way to get a hold of a representative from either Wurlitzer or Baldwin (former owners of the Chickering name) & ask them if they could give me a more exact manufacture date - at least an exact year or month.
Do you know of any other resources that I could take advantage of in order to find out this information? Thanks in advance, Nathan. Hello Fellow Technicians - I am new to the field & have a question about finding out the manufacture date of a piano I own. I do in fact have a copy of Pierce Piano Atlas - FYI. I own a Chickering baby grand built in Boston, Massachusetts.
The serial # is 1742. Pierce Piano Atlas says that is was made between 1830 & 1835. Becuase the Boston factory burned down, I suppose I would have to find a way to get a hold of a representative from either Wurlitzer or Baldwin (former owners of the Chickering name) & ask them if they could give me a more exact manufacture date - at least an exact year or month. Do you know of any other resources that I could take advantage of in order to find out this information? Thanks in advance, Nathan I've been told by a technician in my area to look carefully at the first few (1-4) keys on the lower end of the piano, taking out these keys to thoroughly inspect them.
There could be writing on the sides or bottoms of these keys, I was told, done by the factory workers. I suspect that the number you are looking at is not a serial number. Some indications of the age would be whether it has a cast plate or if it is made of bars and plates fastened together. Is it cross-strung, i.e., do the bass strings cross over the tenor strings? If it has a cast plate, it is not that old. If it is cross-strung, it is even newer. It should be at least 6 feet long, hardly a 'baby' grand, to be that age.
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If it has 85 or more keys, it is newer. The very early records of Chickering are gone, and the later ones may be in a museum in Rochester, but they would not be at Baldwin. I suspect that the number you are looking at is not a serial number. Some indications of the age would be whether it has a cast plate or if it is made of bars and plates fastened together. Is it cross-strung, i.e., do the bass strings cross over the tenor strings? If it has a cast plate, it is not that old. If it is cross-strung, it is even newer.
It should be at least 6 feet long, hardly a 'baby' grand, to be that age. If it has 85 or more keys, it is newer. The very early records of Chickering are gone, and the later ones may be in a museum in Rochester, but they would not be at Baldwin. BDB - I'm almost 100% that the number I'm looking at is the serial.
What other number could the number I'm seeing be, other than a part number? The bass strings do cross the treble very slightly, but the piano is under 6 feet long (5' 3') & the plate says international pitch 435. It has Victorian-Style features as well - very decorative legs, etc. If the piano was 'rebuilt' at some time in the past you may never find a valid serial number. If the plate was refinished—or even cleaned and scrubbed thoroughly—the original number may have been permanently obliterated. Not all rebuilders replace the SN in the original location; or replace it at all. Some will stamp it in an out of the way, but still visible, place on the soundboard.
I’ve seen it stamped on the face of the bellyrail. Occasionally it will be stamped on the front edge of the keyframe frontrail. Check the inside of the inner rim below the pinblock (you may have to have the action out of the piano for this). Another common location is the front edge of the hammershank action rail. You can also look underneath the keybed.
Or along the back edge of the keybed. Sometimes folks get truly creative when it comes to hiding the SN of a piano. It is also possible that, like your technician suggested, you might find either a SN or, possibly, a manufacture date on the keys or keyframe. Sometimes you have to be something of a detective. And, sometimes, just like the real-world detective, you may never solve the case. I want to thank all of you who are contributing to this thread.
I'm posting some more photographs now. I took a picture every time I found a number. My comments are next to each link. Nathan (top of the plate) (front of hammer rail) (key 1, showing same 1742 number as plate) (key 3, showing faint number similar to later # I found) (key 3, again) (key 4, showing date '3-16-49') (key 4, again) (key bed, showing 17 number with inverted last two digits from plate) (key 6, showing similar-looking # to key 3's faint #) Thanks for looking, everyone. I hope someone is able to give me some more clues on where to look for a serial number.
Slideshow Here. Just to confirm an earlier comment, the Smithsonian does indeed hold the records of the Chickering piano company. Once you know the serial number, you can look on microfilm (which they have reams of) to find out what year the piano was sold, and to whom (dealer or private individual).
I was there doing research on the pianist George Copeland, who was a Chickering artist for several years. Unfortunately, Chickering didn't save any of their artist records, but there was a copy of a long-winded speech on the occasion of Chickering's 100th anniversary given by a former governor of Massachusetts, one Calvin Coolidge.
07/03/10 11:07 PM Re: Manufacture Date - Chickering Baby Grand (circa 1833) Joined: Feb 2010 Posts: 34 Full Member Full Member Joined: Feb 2010 Posts: 34. Just to confirm an earlier comment, the Smithsonian does indeed hold the records of the Chickering piano company. Once you know the serial number, you can look on microfilm (which they have reams of) to find out what year the piano was sold, and to whom (dealer or private individual). I was there doing research on the pianist George Copeland, who was a Chickering artist for several years. Unfortunately, Chickering didn't save any of their artist records, but there was a copy of a long-winded speech on the occasion of Chickering's 100th anniversary given by a former governor of Massachusetts, one Calvin Coolidge.
Chickering Piano Serial Number Search
I'm going to have to look into this. Thanks, PianoDude2010.
Chickering Serial Number Search
Maybe I should have been more specific. Where is the serial number located on the piano? I have the bluebook. I just can't find the serial number ON the piano itself. No, you were perfectly specific.
And I gave you a toll-free number that gets you someone from the manufacturer that can likely tell you exactly where to look for the s/n. Of course, you can always sit back and wait for someone that might have a Chickering piano to maybe read this thread (that doesn't mention anything about Chickering in the subject line), and maybe they'll know where the s/n is located on their piano, and maybe that'll be the same place as it is on yours. So good luck in your search. I wasn't trying to be a jerk. I hope you didn't take it that way. You guys have always been great in this forum and the Guitar forum.
No offense my friend. I didn't realize that I should call that number. Thanks again. No worries, Rampdog. Wasn't interpreting it that way. And my tongue was in cheek in my reply, but I forgot to add the requisite winking smileys to indicate as such. Yeah, give'em a call.
Nothing like going straight to the source. It's faster, and almost always more accurate than asking around here (exceptions to the rule: calling Roland support. Let us know if you're successful with Baldwin/Chickering.
Fingers are crossed for ya!