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If you don't find a date written on one of the keys at the end of the keyboard, you can only rely on this 4 digit serial number. There were a few differences between the pianos made in Paris and those made in London, but in general, the models on offer were similar. Regarding upright pianos, the Par...

Unfortunately, I can only confirm what Bill said: the London archives have disappeared. I guess that the data listed by Bill in his web page are based on dates written on the keys. The actions were made in advance, and sometime came from Paris. So, I Bill said, it's not very reliable. You can consid...

I sent you a message.

Erard grands have also integrated pin blocks which are tricky to replace. Philippe Jolly, piano restorer in Paris, has designed a process to replace Erards' pin blocks. If you wish, I can get you in touch with him. He can speak English and is keen to give advice, especially if the distance doesn't m...

Hello, Although most of Erard pianos were veneered with Rosewood or mahogany, some were just black, usually a tainted varnish. The pattern with two birds on the front panel was quite common, as it is the third piano I see advertised with this. They were made for the British market, as the Erard for ...

In fact, there is a mistake on the pdf document that can be downloaded from the website. Sebasstien Erard started his London branch in 1792, to follow many of his French clients who emigrated. 1792 and 1793 were the hardest years for anybody considered a threat to the revolution. However, Sebastien ...

The Erard archives show that the upright pianos numbered 40082 to 40085 were bought by "Mr Hulsenbeck, in Lima". Your piano left the workshop in July 1867. I'll look a bit further in the Sales Book tonight to see if I can find anything else. I guess that Mr Hulsenbeck was a merchant, or ha...

As I was into the Erard archives, I also looked at this one. It entered the workshop in December 1895 and was finished on 24 Feb 1896. Unfortunately, not much about the buyer, as it is only said that it was delivered to the S et P Erard shop in London. I can translate the decal on the sound board. I...

I'm sorry to be late for this post. The photographs posted by Bill are those of a piano with an interesting history: From the Erard archives, 83154 corresponds to a straight-strung No1, with the 5 bar frame, and the case is of rosewood (palissandre). It must have had a bit of a chaotic childhood: it...

In fact, it's seventeen thousand. It should be corrected in my earlier post now. I wonder if the Royal College of Music have any documents that could help gathering data on Erard london. It looks like they've got a music history department. Also, a website on Sebastien Erard is planning to publish p...

OK, I admit that "being the same" was a bit of a shortcut. So, I write below a translation of the note found in the workshop records: " The Erard piano factories in Paris and London are based on the same principle, Sebastien erard's inventions. These two factories being now managed by...

Phiphi the Frenchman to the rescue ! Although, I don't know if it will be very helpful. Around May-June 1845, the numbers jumped from 17000 to 18200. The text at the top of the page in the records explains that the Paris and London branches being the same (They probably merged officially around this...

You can look up the Erard archives which have been scanned by the Cite de la Musique. Just enter Erard archives in Google and you can then get to the workshop records (Registres d'Atelier) and the commercial records. The workshop records are listed by serial number, and thus chronological order, and...

What are the problems with the Knghts build after 1983 ? I'm just asking to get z bit more knowledge, because most of those advertised are from the 70s or earlier.

Thank you for your replies and your encouragements. We decided that it's better to wait a bit before getting another piano at home. So I will have a few months to try a few pianos here and there before buying. It's a bit of a shame because there is a K20 for sale in London on ebay for a fraction of ...

I am in the process of shipping my Erard grand back to France to make a bit of space in the living room that starts to look like a toy shop (even a department store !). I will certainly need to get an upright since I will be bored of the Clavinova very quickly. I don't have the budget for anything G...

It's a 1927 number. If you rather thought that it was a mid-19th century piano, it's probably because it was straight strung, with what Erard called the "composite" frame (assembly of iron bars). If this is the case, you probably passed by a rarity: (one of) the last straight-strung pianos...

Sorry for this late post, but I only found out a few clues regarding your puzzles. Erard established the pianos and harps workshop in 1792, at No 18 Great Marlborough street, and stayed there until 1940. The front cover of Rene Beaupain's book on Erard pianos shows a page of a what seems to be 1930'...

We had a Schiedmayer at work for a number of years. I can vaguely remember that the serial number was written on the lower face of the soundboard. So, you'll have to crawl under the piano.

Hello. I've not been on this forum for many months, and I'm always happy to help about Erard pianos. This piano was definitly made in Paris. Erard stopped manufacturing in London in 1890, and the serial numbers didn't reach the 20,000's The number 96351 was made in 1909. Many different uprights were...

These information from the book are direct transcripts from Erard's price list. My feeling is that the vocabulary regarding piano design was not completely fixed yet. Erard's Price lists from later years (1917 onwards) were much clearer. To validate my statement, we need to ask someone who was in th...

Actually, I had a second look at this Erard book, and the information about the uprights very confusing. I initially thought that "cordes demi-obliques" would be parallel, and that "cordes obliques" would be overstrung. But it looks that some "demi-obliques" were overst...

Erard ! Erard ! That's for me. Around 1905, the choice for upright pianos was: No 5, "demi-oblique", 85 keys, 1.25m high No 6, "oblique", 85 keys, 1.29m high. No 7, "oblique", 85 keys, 1.25m high. No 8, "oblique", 85 keys, 1.32m high. No 9, "oblique"...

I did not notice any number, certainly because I didn't look for it. :mrgreen: I saw the word "brevete" (patented in French) on the "front rail". I compared with photographs of a 1952 Type 0, and this one has "Schwander" written above "brevete" at the same loc...

Unfortunately, it's in French. :lol: However, I find this book somehow disappointing. It doesn't give many details on the history, or design, or manufacturing. It's mainly a compilation of information from documents found in museums or private collections, mainly catalogues, and a bit of discussion ...

As I said earlier, it depends on the year: It looks like the manufacturing of vertical string uprights stopped around 1860, when they were replaced by the semi-oblique. The oblique uprights were then produced since a dozen of years. From then, until around 1900, the range was No 6 (semi-oblique), an...

If you give more informations about the piano, like number of keys, height, stringing (straight or overstrung), it may be possible to identify the Type. The most common seems to be the Type 8. However, it also depends on the year, and the serial number would be helpful. A photograph (or more) would ...

The book was written by Rene Beaupain. Its title is "La Maison erard, Manufacture de Pianos, 1780-1959" The editor is "L'Harmattan". It was published in 2005. IBSN: 9782747585316 Let me know if you need more info about the book. There is a photograph of the Erard VOG. Of course, ...

You're lucky. I just bought the book on Erard written by Rene Beaupain. Erard offered 2 very small upright pianos, both with 85 keys: The Vogue was made from 1937 and had the aspect of a bureau with 3 drawers on each side (quite unusual). Its height was 0.98m. It was replaced in 1939 by the ABC 39, ...

Without the accents I'd guessed too that your Pianomajeur posts were with a Qwerty keyboard as opposed to an Azerty. Having spent 14 years in England, I am now used to QWERTY. I need to bring my wine here, but I can survive without AZERTY. If you can post pictures of your Erard, I know of at least ...

It still amuses me to see a piano for sale being described as a "toad"! The legend says that this name was given by one of the main French composers (Ravel? Poulenc? I need to check), who didn't like the style of the baby grand he saw for the first time and said that it looks like a toad....

Thank you for your reply. And I know now that "regulation" is about tuning the action. I start to be a bit more up-to-date with the English piano vocabulary. Do all tuners also do regulation, or is it rather done by technicians doing repairs ? I guess that the answer will be that some tune...

Hello, I've just bought a 1912 Erard 0 (photos to be posted soon on the forum). I will have it tuned in a few weeks after it settles at home. I am looking for a tuner/technician in the North London - South Essex region who would be keen to work on this piano. It is overstrung, but still fitted with ...

Hi, I am new on this forum. I am retrieving this old post because I just had an Erard 0 delivered this morning. When looking for a piano in the last couple of months, I had discussions about Erard on a French forum. From these discussions, and looking at adverts on French websites, I learnt a few th...