George Rogers & Sons, London

[Jehan]

Hi, My mom has inherited her family piano - A 'George Rogers & Sons, London' with the number 36812. I would appreciate a possible date of manufacture of the piano.

Many thanks,

Jehan

[Colin Nicholson]

Hi
The serial number suggests your piano is dated around 1926.

[Jehan]

Thanks very much, Colin.
The piano is being repaired and tuned in Sri Lanka.

[bcarson878]

I have a George Rogers and Sons of London piano with the serial #9613. How old is this piano. It's been in the family a long time but I can't find any information on it

[Johnkie]

I have a George Rogers and Sons of London piano with the serial #9613. How old is this piano. It's been in the family a long time but I can't find any information on it

This serial number would suggest it was made in 1878 - Quite an old example

[Bill Kibby]

With the usual proviso that there are often several numbers inside a piano, so have a look at my Numbers and Datemarks pages at pianohistory.info

[bcarson878]

I still really can't find anything that explains anything about this piano. Is it rare? How many were made? Is it valueable? Thank you for any help you can give me

[bcarson878]

These are some pictures of the piano in question. The number in the picture is also on the back of the piano on the top right if you're looking at it from the back. Just click each picture to get a full size

[Johnkie]

I still really can't find anything that explains anything about this piano. Is it rare? How many were made? Is it valueable? Thank you for any help you can give me

Thanks for the photos, it helps great deal when people ask about pianos. The date of late 1870s is spot on .. you did indeed get the correct serial number. I haven't seen anything like it for years !! The workmanship that went into its making is tremendous .... just the thought of someone taking the time and effort to make that fretwork front panel is mind blowing. Sadly though, it just couldn't be used as a working piano now ... it's far too frail and would be prone to having bits of the action breaking when even playing with "kid gloves". The action parts are made of cedar wood, which become extremely brittle with age, and the hammer shanks in particular, tend to break at the drop of a hat. I could imagine it being in a piano collection somewhere with a little work done to it to make it presentable, but I'm affraid it's well past it's "sell by date" and worthless as a working piano. It has been great to see it though, and I can't help but wonder about its long history - if only it could talk !!!

[Bill Kibby]

Have a look at the posting a bit further down the list for "London's Cottage Pianos", that will explain a great deal. Sadly, although I am fascinated by Victorian pianos, they rarely fetch as much as £90 at auctions here, unless they have been professional restored, indeed many do not reach £20. Last year, I went to see a similar Rogers at the Elgar Centre, Worcester, with that phrase "From Collard & Collard" indicating that George Rogers was trained at the Collard factory. In our Piano History Centre, we have a number of this type of instrument, some from the 1840s work very well, some can be tuned, some need major work!

[vernon]

I'm sure Bill will confirm this but I think that the front panel would have been covered inside with silk, installed by a "piano silker" that was a seperate piano trade.
I have a similar Broadwood finished in that manner, tho' with even more elaborate fretwork
Mine is probably heading for a home contemporaneous with it's age with a very romantic story attached.

[bcarson878]

THank you everyone for your responses. It's great to hear that the piano is in fact as old as we thought and quite rare. But I have to admit it's a bit disappointing that it's not really valuable. Itlooks like we'll just keep it in the family.

[Bill Kibby]

There were thousands of piano factories, many of their names are now uncommon, but "rare" is a word I try to avoid, and I certainly would not use an internet search as any judge of rarity. I have over twenty thousand piano names on file, the vast majority are not listed on the internet, and many are meaningless aliases. In many instances, they only seem rare because the name on the front is not the real maker.

[kwu360]

Hi i recently bought a ROGER piano LONDON,and i would like to know when it was manufacture the serial nr is 33303 many thanks.

[Bill Kibby]

Is this a George Rogers piano? The number would suggest 1923, but not if it is a ROGER piano.

[kwu360]

Is this a George Rogers piano? The number would suggest 1923, but not if it is a ROGER piano.

Hi again,i dont think its a George Roger piano couse it doesent says so,it only says ROGER PIANOS LONDON,i dont know alot about pianos infact i dont know anything,i bought it for my wife and all i can tell is that is an old one, and it plays nice,many thanks Sid from Cyprus. I hope you can help me and find the age of it out.

[Bill Kibby]

I only know RogerS

[Colin Nicholson]

http://www.piano-tuners.org/piano-forum ... f=2&t=9585

Regarding the "Rogers" piano.... click on the above link which will show you how to upload a photo of your piano. Sometimes serial numbers are not given or vague, and in some cases they are misleading. Try and include a photo of the whole piano with lid open, and one of the internal mechanism (hammers, strings etc) - with the front top board removed. Going just on a name printed onto this page is not a reliable way to confirm if the original makers were Rogers (or Roger)....

If you were to have your house dated or valued.... often is the case photos are needed to confirm things, then we have something to go by.

I think its fair to say that we know just as much about your piano as you do.... and phrases like "I dont think...." or "I dont know...." do not help.
Photos please - nice & clear and in focus, sent JPG if possible.

[Gillxy23]

Hi. I am wondering around what date my old George Rogers & Sons upright was manufactured. The serial number is 24345. It has a handwritten note attached noting it was selected for someone (looks like William..) by Charles Vincent.

[Rododo]

Hi, I have an upright piano by George rogers and sons with the serial number being 12703. I was wondering how old this piano is and how much it is worth if it is in leek condition, thanks.

[Bill Kibby]

The number suggests 1886, so have a look at
http://www.pianohistory.info/victorian.html
However, most pianos have several numbers inside, so if that doesn't look right for your piano, read
http://www.pianohistory.info/numbers.html
or if you want to search for clues inside the piano read
http://www.pianohistory.info/datemarks.html