Witton, Witton & Co.

[florischu]

I have a Witton, Witton & Co. (London) piano from someone who had no use for it. I have no idea of its origins except that is has a small plate over the keys stating "John Lawson, arcade, King St., Dundee." When opening the lid (imprinted on the right side of the piano) I found the number 20829; below that there is a plain white sticker with the number 2911 on it (handwritten). The number 829 is also imprinted on the inside (only visible when I remove the top front panel). The highest key on the piano has the name "W.R.Farrier" imprinted on the side. When removing the lower front panel, I again found the number 829 (both imprinted and handwritten). The metal frame against the soundboard, by the base bridge, has 1SP on it and also contains the numbers "24 3 17" engraved next to a harp symbol (I take it this is the date of manufacture?)

Do you have any information you could give me regarding either value or really anything at all regarding this piano.
I would be very grateful.

Thanks,

Florian Schumann

[Colin Nicholson]

Florian

There seems to be no history at all regarding this piano (just a mention).... from London, but thats it. Alot of numbers are meaningless on pianos, some are stock/ part numbers, pencil markings are of no use at all, and even if we struck the right serial number (which should be verified by photo only), there are no serial number records for this make of piano. The numbers on the frame "could" be a date, who knows - however I dont ever see the exact date, month and year stamped on a piano. So the only way to give a "rough period" for this piano is for you to send some photos, of the outside, and the inside (not from the top looking in), but to completely remove the front music rest board. We cannot give valuations here, you will need to book an appointment with a piano tuner who must tune it.

Hope thats helpful

[MarkGoodwinPianos]

If you upload photos showing the inside and outside of the piano a rough valuation should be possible.

[Gill the Piano]

1917 would be about right for Witton & Witton; the first recorded meetings of the Piano Tuners' Association were held there around 1915.

[Bill Kibby]

There are no reliable lists of dates for Witton numbers, so this frame mark is very useful as a guide, and the fact the the last 3 digits of the number appear on removable case parts confirms that it is the proper case number of the maker. The frame was cast in 1917, and the piano may have been completed up to 5 or 6 years later. Lawson was there from the 1890s to the 1920s.

As a matter if interest, if you know how to remove the action safely, and if it has John Malcolm's label on the rear of the hammer rail, I would be interested to know the number there.

[atraynor]

Hi I have a Witton, Witton & Co baby grand which I inherited from my Grandfather. I have just had it tuned (after 30 years since I last heard it being played). The tuner has offered to restore the piano to a 'like new' condition. It is going to cost 2,200 to restore is it worth while?

[Bill Kibby]

We can't possibly guess what the piano is like from here, the tuner on the spot is the only person who can tell you what is worth doing, unless you get a second opinion from another tuner. The name doesn't tell us anything about the individual piano. At least half of that money could disappear just on restringing it.

[Steam Age]

Here's another Witton, Witton & Co upright, with a description and a few pictures to help identification - click on an image to enlarge it.

I'd be very grateful for any information that anyone can offer.

If anyone is interested in buying it (though that's not why I'm posting here), please contact me through my web site.

Thanks in advance.

[Bill Kibby]

I have #31610 here, I estimate it at 1922. Yours is much bulkier because it was originally a player piano, as revealed by the hatch above the pedals. Is there another hatch in the middle of the top door, behind the music desk?

#36300 Witton piano can be dated to 1923 by the Malcolm action number on the back of the action.

[Steam Age]

Thanks for the information.

"Is there another hatch in the middle of the top door, behind the music desk?"

Yes there is. I presume that's where the music rolls were loaded, and the lower hatch is where the driving pedals were.