William Sames

[doublesure]

Hi, I have a piano in my possession and would appreciate any information on it.

All the information I have is what I can find on the piano. It is a 'William Sames Ltd' 'Upright Iron Grand' from 'Corporation Street Birmingham' 'Established in 1855'. The piano is located in Doncaster, so not to far from Birmingham, whether this is relevant or not I don't know. It has a number branded to the inside of the top lid, reading ‘14482’.

Thanks in advance for any information!!

[Bill Kibby]

The number suggests that it was made around 1908-11, but no firm dates or archive information are available, and without photos, I can't tell you if this date is likely. Sames' Ombersley Road factory can be seen on Google Earth, and you can move around to different views. Ha ve a look at the 1910 item above.

There is said to be a website that lists Sames' dates, I have no details yet.

[glenlee]

Good evening,

I have done some research on the Sames piano as I married into the family. The factory in Ombersley Road, the Mozart Works, was the biggest factory in Birmingham. Unfortunately it burned down in 1928. It was insured but when the insurance company saw the size of the claim, it went bust. The owner of the piano factory, Leonard Sames went bust too.

There are still many pianos, harmoniums and organs around the world.

The company was started by Jacob Sames, born 1830 in Frankfurt. If you Google 'Wiliam Sames' (Jacob's son) you should find more information uder 'Reed Organs',

Glenise Lee

[Bill Kibby]

Nice to hear from you. By memory, I thought the fire was 1921. Were there two? Photos taken at the time show that the roof and interior were badly damaged by the fire, but the structure is still standing, you can see it on Google Earth. It is the same building that is shown on an old photo sent to me by another descendant, and the same one that is illustrated on their old ads.

I like to keep in email contact with descendants of piano makers.

[bbyrne01]

We have just aquired a Sames upright piano and was wondering if some one can tell me when it was biult and it value it is in very good condition and was sold W.H.PALING&Co. Limited this is written in gold leaf on timber also says sole agents in small print.My daughter is about to use it for lessons any info welcome cheers Brian

[Bill Kibby]

I'm sorry that we cannot begin to guess the date just from the name, there are thousands of Sames pianos, made over a period of over 80 years. Nobody can guess the value or condition without tuning it.

[Gill the Piano]

Wasn't Paling an Australian dealer, Bill? Or were they in the UK too?

[Bill Kibby]

Palings were probably THE Australian retailer, but I have not heard of them in the UK. They sold many British and German pianos, but some had fake names.