Bansall

[DewiW]

Hi. i've just inherited a Bansall and sons Piano with the serial number 24171. I was wondering if there was anyway of ageing it with this?? Thanks

[Bill Kibby]

You could try hitting it with a hammer, or dragging it around in the dirt, that should age it?

Seriously though, the serial numbers for Bansall were never published, and my list has been arrived at by estimating numbers between the few pianos of known date. The estimates will improve as more information becomes available, but Bansall pianos are usually dated under the bottom keys, and datemarks are much more reliable than numbers if you can find them.

Most pianos have several numbers insdie, but if you have chosen the right one, it would suggest about 1896. Without photos, I can't tell if it is a likely date.

[vernon]

Bansall was always a bit of a mystery to me. They seemed to have made most of the average trade pianos and several distintive features. They must have had a prodigious output for a little known name.

[Bill Kibby]

I have rarely seen their own name on their pianos, they supplied them to retailers to be fitted with all sorts of fake aliases. It's often only by getting into piano archaeology that one can disinter the maker's name at all.