Nathaniel Berry? - Princess Ingrid of Sweden Seal

[SrDonWilliam]

Hello, I need the advice of some of you piano "know it alls" out there. I found a really rare piano at a shop in Madrid. You can see a picture of it here... http://www.photomusik.com/sp/hm/publ/a_ ... 210015.jpg

It is in an antique shop that specializes in Deco furniture and NOT pianos. The owner was asking 8,000€, it has the title Nathaniel Berry & Sons Ltd. on flipside of the keyboard cover, and said that it was the property of the Princess of Sweden and the Queen of Denmark and that it had the seal to prove it. He went on to say that if he had the contacts of the Royal Society in Sweden they would pay ten times the amount to have it back in their collection.

I did some research and can find no such model from Berry like this particular model, however, I noticed that Eavstaff made a remarkably similar piano. Spinet style with 72 keys and two pedals. See here...http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Eavestaff-Pianett ... 77004r8910

It even looked the same (minus the outlandish paint scheme on the model in the antique shop). And lo and behold, all the Eavstaff pianette pianos have the same royal seal from HRH Princess Ingrid of Sweden. I also thought it was strange that the piano in the antique shop had no support structure for the keyboard cover, which normally can be used as a sheet music holder when turned over. The Eavestaff model has a rear structure that would serve as a support, but it seems that it has been removed.

The piano wasnt very tuned but the owner did say that he had just spent 2000€ to have it rebuilt and that with a little tuning it would be in perfect working order. But I have my doubts.

My questions to you experts are:

What is going on here?
What is an Evestaff that needs a little work worth?
What would a piano like this be worth?
Is it worth buying if I get a massive discount?

The fact of the matter is I am not an expert player, but I do love to play and I love the way this piano looks. But I am not going to fork over 8000€ or even half that for a fake.

Thanks for your help!!!

[Gill the Piano]

Run away screaming...you can pick one up here for a couple of hundred quid at most - and THAT would have to be for a perfect one with A1 original casework which the Art Deco collectors would want rather than a pianist.

[Pianomate]

I think someone is taking the pee-pee.

If some people are seriously prepared to part with that amount of cash for such a piano, maybe we need to rethink our business strategies! Far more profitable than selling new ones!

It would be cheaper to buy one over here and have it shipped over to you!!

[Bill Kibby]

Pretty much what I told you earlier, when you emailed me! It's an Eavestaff minipiano sold by Berrys. How could one piano be owned by the royal familes of two different countries? You would have to give me the complete, exact wording to convince me. Usually, the transfer says "As used by", that doesn't mean the princess owned it. There does seem to be some difference of opinion about which country Princess Ingrid belonged to, because although Swedish, she married into the Norwegian royal family.