K.Board Paris

[Rohat]

Attecked are the photos of the piano. We don't know much about pianos. Could you please assess this piano gor us?

[Colin Nicholson]

We cannot give a true assessment or valuation here on this forum, you will need to make an appointment with a piano tuner for this information; however I can give you some general information, and approx. age of this piano.

The true essence of a piano - in its glory - is whether it can be successfully tuned or not. Many old pianos of this age are now just a piece of furniture.

The original maker's name was A. BORD established 1840, Paris. K Bord was an affiliation or associate of the makers.

The number 72740 is the serial number, and suggests a date between 1885 - 1890.
(The number 911 may just be a stock/item number - no records of that)

Van Gruisen of Liverpool (I believe they were on Bold St) are the traders who sold the piano. Pianos were often shipped over to the UK and sold on commission by other trade names (who some tried to claim the name of the piano!!)

The coins/ medals dont really mean anything now, except in those days, various pianos by Bord may have been put on exhibition - and this was displayed on other pianos just as a selling technique.

The missing ivory sections on the keys are easy enough to replace (yes, the key tops are ivory).... and the sconces are missing.

I believe Bord were taken over by Pleyel in 1934, and in some years they sold over 4000 pianos annually.

Regrettably though, many hundreds & thousands of pianos are like this today - in very poor condition, and yours is no exception. Some are worth as little as £20 - £50 at auction.

The main area a piano guy also needs to see is the internal mechanism - that you have not photographed. I'm probably assuming over-damped and definitely a 3/4 iron frame. Casework is "ebonised black" - very old and out-dated now, and many pianos of this casework dont sell for much.

Hope that's helpful.....

Colin