Metzler and Co Berlin

[vernon]

Bill
A customer has upright one of the above. Looks about 1900-1905 to me . Serial no 12112. Sconces, inlaid front top door panel. Black case.Ivory keys. Good quality. O/strung with 3/4 frame, open plank which is brass faced. ( hiding a sneaky little crack I diagnose)
It was given to her mum , allegedly new in 1927 and mum want's to write a history of it and finds it difficult to accept my estimate of it's age making it nearly 30 years old at the time.
bw
Vernon

[Bill Kibby]

Some of these were made by Challen, London. Others are bogus, modern, self-adhesive nameplates added at a later date. Metzler, London pianos have inconsistent numbers in the early years of the 1900s, but may be dated on the bottom key. If it really is German, I may be able to date it by the action makers' name and number.

[vernon]

nothing on the bottom key.I couldn't see any action maker but didn't look closely.
The name is inlaid brass an is certainly original. It does say "metzler and co" in English, not " und Gesellschaft" or something similar.Perhaps it was made specifically for the British market. My grandfather was said to have imported Metzlers and that a shipload of them sank off Margate pre-WW1--- but that is probably another family tale as innaccurate as many others!