John Brinsmead & Sons

[peterhacks]

Hi All
new to this just wanting some information on a piano i am looking at purchasing its a John Brinsmead and sons
serial number seems to be 31751 it has a label on the inside thats fairly faded saying 1878 thats about all i can add
its in average condition timberwise needs a good polish and dust down,asking price is 3k not knowing much about pianos but would look great,they are telling me it needs a tune but from reading that may be part of the problem so any history information would be appreciated

thanks

Peter

[MarkGoodwinPianos]

STOP!!!!!!

Is this is an upright or grand?
Private seller or shop?

I'm shocked at the price to be honest.
Needs a tune?! Oh dear, that's usually a euphemism for "don't touch with a barge pole"

Please get some photos and put them here for us to see. You may have found a very nice piano BUT you may also be teetering on the edge of disaster. We can help you figure out which one it is if you give us more info.

Who is the seller?
What part of the country are they in?

Thanks
Mark

[peterhacks]

it is a grand and its located in sydney in a used furniture shop i will try and upload some photos tommorow but what do you think

[Johnkie]

$3000 !! - I would be VERY careful before even thinking about buying a piano for this amount from a furniture shop (or antique shop). These people rarely know much about pianos, and just try the market to see if they can make make a sale to someone who knows no better. Don't part with any cash until you have at the very least got a professional tuner / technician to inspect it. If you have that kind of cash to play with you'd be much better off going to a reputable piano dealer, or asking an experienced tuner to look out for something that would suit. It might be worth the money if it were professionally restored .... but I very much doubt it has been.

Nope !! don't touch it with a barge pole .... lookng up the number you give would suggest it was made around 1880 .... 130 years old

[MarkGoodwinPianos]

As the teletubbies once said, "run away run away"

[Bill Kibby]

This number suggests 1885, and it would have to be a hell of an overhaul to be worth 3k in any currency. What currency is it? Pianos of this age rarely fetch ninety pounds in local auctions here, unless they have been professionally restored, and many do not reach twenty pounds. Grands are terribly difficult to place at all, whatever state they are in. I've seen younger Bechstein grands fail to reach four hundred pounds.

Do not pay if this is some unqualified dealer who knows nothing about pianos.

Get a tuner to check it before you spend any other money.

[Colin Nicholson]

Sounds a horrendous amount of dosh! but I think about £1,500 in UK money is reasonable for a grand in a piano shop.
It depends on the condition, but I suspect the shop owner is after making a very handsome profit!!

[aimee]

I have John Brinsmead&Sons Upright Piano. Didn't use it last 5 years. It needs tunning! Anybody wants it for £550.00?

[Bill Kibby]

This is not really a place to sell pianos, it's a piano HISTORY forum. The name tells us nothing about the individual piano. Can you upload some images, or email them to me? Also, look inside the top for any numbers you can see. As Mark said above, the idea that it "needs tuning" implies that it CAN be tuned, we don't know that because nobody has tried for years. If it is untuneable, that chops over a thousand pounds off the value.

[willymanilly]

I've just seen you're located in Australia. It's very hard to get a good piano under atleast 5K overhere, so anything under that price is usually a bargain!.

However make sure you have it checked out by a piano technician before purchasing!

Kind Regards