Burling and Mansfield Piano age

[Emmett Wright]

I'm trying to find out the age of a Burling and Mansfield Upright Piano, serial # 18768. Also, were these pianos scaled to A-435 when built?

[Bill Kibby]

All the pianos you are likely to come across outside a museum were originally capable of A440, but whether they can achieve that now depends on their history and condition. In my view, it is usually safer to bring them up gently, a small amount at a time, perhaps an eighth of a semitone. As for dates, the names "Burling & Burling" and "Burling & Mansfield" were both in use from the 1890s by the same firm, so it is probably after 1890. Most pianos have several numbers, and although no dates are published for this firm, 3,500 could be around 1890, and they had reached about 40,000 by the end of the 1914 war. Have a look at "Gen about pianos" at http://www.pianogen.org