Wallace and Harris Ltd - Gloucester

[Ren142]

Hi

I have a Wallace and Harris Ltd, (Gloucester) upright piano and I would like to learn a little more about its history as I can not find anything on the web. Any information would be really helpful.
Thanks in advance
Renee

[Bill Kibby]

I think you will find that this was actually Mr Wallace Harris, not a partnership. He first appears in our Gloucester lists after 1911, and became a Ltd. company some time after 1928. I don't know if he or the firm survived the second world war. Harris was almost certainly not a maker, but just one of many dealers who bought in pianos from anonymous wholesalers and applied his name to them. Any further clues will be inside the piano, so have a look at pianogen.org

[Ren142]

Hi Bill

Thank you so much for your reply.... I thought nobody had answered as I wasnt informed the page had been updated.

Thank you so much for the information, I will certainly have a look inside for some clues and let you know the outcome.

Thanks again

Renée

[Ren142]

Hi Bill

I have looked inside the Piano and can find nothing else but Wallace Harris 1155 cut into the wood and a metal guarantee plaque stating that the guarantee is conditional that any tuning be done by Wallace Harris only.

Any further information would be gratefully received.

Thanks Renee

[nobster]

Rennee, I also own a Wallace Harris Piano, bought it from a house reclamation centre, paid £70, looks lovely must admit. I did find a serial number bhind the top lid, did you ever find out more info on this piano as i cant find anything on internet apart from your post. cheers Tony

[nobster]

rennee, when you reply, tick the box underneath which asks if you want to be notified when someone replies, i would have thought it would have been automatic, but you have to tick it or you wont know unless you visit this site again. cheers tony

[Bill Kibby]

This isn't an old posting, if you look at the date, it is only from a few days ago, so nobody has had much chance to progress. Coincidences like that happen quite often here. If you would like to email photos of the whole piano, and interior details, I may be able to tell you more.

[pady]

It's amazing what turns up on the Internet!
I am sorting out old boxes belonging to my parents ( both dead ) & I have found an envelope cotaining a lovely key marked Wallace Harris Ltd Gloucester. I didn't have a clue what it belonged to but didn't want to throw it away without knowing something about it. This page turned up when I typed it into a search engine. So now I know it belonged to the piano. It came from my father's home in Gloucester & was bought new. They were a very musical family so it must have been a reasonably good instrument.
I will look very carefully through the old papers to see if there is a receipt or date of purchase. The piano is still excellent - a beautiful tone.

[Ren142]

Hi everyone

Thank you for your posts, its much appreciated.

I will send some photos across to you Bill. It is a shame that there seems to be nothing on the net about the piano. I did email Gloucester Archives and they sent the following reply:

From the information given in your email, I have searched our catalogues for any documents which specifically mention “Wallace Harris Ltd”. I found a pamphlet entitled “A Story of the Acorn and the Oak” (N15.50GS) which appears to be a history of the first 25 years of the company, 1901-1926. However as this was written by the company it is very biased.

After this there seems to be very little detail. Any updates would still be much appreciated.

I am hoping to move abroad next year and will be looking to sell the Piano on but want to send it on its journey with some history behind it.

Thanks again

Renée