Erard Petit Piano

[Coelho]

Hi all,
i'm a brazilian producer, just acquired this little Erard piano, the smallest i've seen (1,30m x 1m x 60cm), it sounds beautifully, very different from others. I'm not an expert at all but the mechanics seems quite different from bigger uprights.

Can you guys enlight me on this one? the numbers marked on the board are 29630 on the left and 2204 on the right - i don't know if it's the serial, or is it located somewhere else.
pics:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/70 ... zzo01.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/24 ... zzo02.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/40 ... zzo03.jpg/

regards and thanks!

rodrigo

[Bill Kibby]

I'm sorry, this is too modern for me, I don't even know if it would be a real Erard. It is a fairly ordinary small piano of the 1900s, and probably after 1970. Someone else may be able to answer.

1.30m is about the length you need for the 85 notes it has.
1m is a low modern piano.
60cm is typical of the depth of upright pianos.

A few years before I became involved with pianos, N.E. Michel published the first "Piano Atlas" of serial numbers, which later became the basis of the Pierce Piano Atlas: This work was a tremendous achievement, listing thousands of American and other names, but many entries say no more than can be found on the piano anyway, and quite apart from the appalling spelling, conflicting entries, duplicated misspelt entries, and the lack of proper cross-reference, an increasing number of the items he published are proving to be wrong or misleading, and this discredits the others. Early numbers for Erardand others do not correspond with the instruments. Information from the original archives of Erard and Pleyel shows that the published numbers are wrong in some periods. The Erard entries also make no allowance for the fact that instruments from their London factory bear a completely different sequence of numbers. I was the first to publish these.

[Coelho]

Thank you Bill! Hopefully I'll be able to gather more info on this.

[Phiphi]

You're lucky. I just bought the book on Erard written by Rene Beaupain.

Erard offered 2 very small upright pianos, both with 85 keys:

The Vogue was made from 1937 and had the aspect of a bureau with 3 drawers on each side (quite unusual). Its height was 0.98m. It was replaced in 1939 by the ABC 39, with the same "internals", but a more conventional style.

The Mezzo was made from 1952 and was fitted with a new action designed by Erard and manufactured by Herrburger, who also made the Schwander action fitted to Erard piano since the end of the 1930s. This newly designed action was closer to that of a grand piano. Its height was 1.04m. Unfortunately, Herrburger closed down in 1954, and Erard had to fit the Mezzo with a more conventional action (doesn't say who was the manufacturer).

The serial number you quote doesn't correspond to the serial numbers of the 50's. However, if it were 129630, the piano would be from 1953, and this is compatible with the unusual action you observed. So, check if there is any remain of a "1" before the number you cam see.

ABC and Mezzo were made until Erard closed down in 1959. This means that both types had certainly little differences from 1954.

The catalogues say that the width was 1.40m, which is larger than the 1.30m you report.

Conclusion: This is a real Erard, especially if fitted with the Erard-designed action, and it's certainly very rare.

[mickeymac]

We have heard of Erard, we don't need spammers, so this has been removed.

[Bill Kibby]

Yes, there was a trend towards hiding pianos inside cases that looked like cupboards and wardrobes in the thirties. Can we have more dteails about the Erard book please?

[Phiphi]

The book was written by Rene Beaupain. Its title is "La Maison erard, Manufacture de Pianos, 1780-1959"

The editor is "L'Harmattan". It was published in 2005.

IBSN: 9782747585316

Let me know if you need more info about the book.

There is a photograph of the Erard VOG. Of course, I cannot post it on the forum because of copyright. Eventually, I can send you a copy of the photograph by email.

[Bill Kibby]

Thanks, this book still repeats old lists of number dates, some of which I am told are not entirely in keeping with the accurate information in the original archives.