John Spencer & Co

[parish]

Hi, I have inherited a John Spencer & Co upright piano which requires some restoration work, i'd love to know it's approx date of manufacture and also if anyone has any photos i could see of a piano like mine, like i say it requires a bit of work so i'd love to see how this piano looks in good condition! The serial number on mine is 45950. Thanks.

[Bill Kibby]

The number suggests 1908, but without knowing what yours is like, I can't say whether we have any suitable photos. Have a look at pianogen.org

[parish]

Thank you for your info, i'll try to add a photo tomorrow if I can work out to do it!!

[Bill Kibby]

Most people fail with inserting images here, and some photos are so big that they cause the whole thing to jam up. You could email me.

[charliep]

Hi Bill, we are considering buying a John Spencer & Co Piano with serial No 66148. Would you be able to tell us the age of the piano? I am astounded by the number of piano manufacturers there have been, albeit they have been made for a few hundred years. Have you any idea how many John Spencer & Co pianos would have been made altogether? Thanks.

[Bill Kibby]

The number suggests that your piano was made in 1916. As for production, some authors have run away with the idea that serial numbers represent the number of pianos made, this is not always the case, although Spencers made claims which seem to have been based on their numbers. See the Numbers link at pianogen.org

As for the hundreds of British makers, Broadwoods seem to be the only ones whose archives have survived, so no actual production figures are available for most British pianos, but a few foreign firms have archives, and research is going on in France with Erard and Pleyel, etc.. See the Archives link at pianogen.org