Dale Forty Co. Ltd. piano

[charmaine]

I have inherited what I believe to be a ship's piano - it has 6 octaves. The names - DALE, FORTY Co Ltd are inside and the action has HERRBURGER BROOKS Ltd on it. There is a number 19750 with a 53 above it.
I would be grateful for any information on this piano - such as its age and if it is a ship's piano what sort of ship it might have been used on.
Thanks
Charmaine

[Bill Kibby]

In the past half a century, many people have mentioned ship's pianos to me, but whenever I asked them to define them, they could not. Usually, they are quoting what someone else called it. A ship is big enough to have any kind of piano it wants. A small upright piano with a keyboard that folds away to save space is known as a Yacht Piano, but that does not mean it was used on a yacht, many were used in front rooms. Does this description fit your piano, or is it just small? Dale Forty was one of several makers who produced small upright pianos with short keyboards, but 6 octaves is not unusual in pianos anyway. The Herrburger Brooks action puts it after 1919, but I can't date that number. Is there another one with one or two stars in front of the whole piano? Can you upload photos of it, or email them to me?

[charmaine]

Thanks for your informative reply - I can find no other numbers on or in the piano but have attached a photo for you

[Bill Kibby]

Thanks. This is not a ship's piano, it is just a piano. The keyboard range is 68 notes, about five-and-a-hakf octaves.