Hamlyn Piano

[scb31]

I have an upright piano that I am trying to find more details about but don't seem to be having much luck. The only name that I can see on it (under the keyboard lid) is 'Hamlyn London', but I can find no further details for this manufacturer. Can anyone help identify/age/value my piano?

TIA

Steve Baxter

[Bill Kibby]

It's very difficult for a real London maker to escape being listed on our files, and I suspect that this is an alias used by some retailer on London-made pianos. For the past century or more, most pianos have been made in large factories, some employing hundreds of workers, but in the days when iron frames were not an absolute requirement, some people were producing pianos one at a time as a "Cottage Industry", in small sheds and workshops, often with no membership of trade organisations, and no listings in directories. These are almost impossible to locate by actuive research, and we rely on things turning up at random from descendants etc..