Beethoven, Stuttgart piano

[jakey]

Hi, we have just inherited an upright piano (54") and I am trying to find some information about it. We are a family of piano players so I'd love to know what we are playing!

The only writing on the piano is 'Beethoven, Stuttgart' in gold under the lecturn (on the back of the keyboard cover). The serial number is 16263. It is quite intricately carved, has paintings on the inside next to the strings and has candle holders.

I have searched online but cannot find info about any piano marked with 'Beethoven, Stuttgart'. The piano was brought to Australia from Europe by my husbands grandmother. She has told us it was made in Germany (stuttgart?!).

Any information that anyone can help with would be very much appreciated.

[Bill Kibby]

As you can read on my own website, composers names are commonly used on pianos, and there are "Beethoven" pianos from Berlin, Stuttgart, London, Australia, New Zealand, New Jersey, etc.. No dates of numbers are available, unless you can find the real makers' name inside.

[jakey]

Thanks for your reply.

This morning we cleaned the piano and discovered a faint stamp under the keys.

As far as we can see, the stamp reads "C Schwohs & Co" followed by "Berlin S.O." The year 1544 appears to be part of the stamp, probably when the company was established?

On one of the keys written in pencil it has 1928 - nothing official about it, but it could be the year of make?

Thanks in advance.

[Bill Kibby]

It is a mistake to imagine that 1544 is a year, pianos did not exist until the 1700s, and if we are talking about a specialised action maker, it would be much later. There are pianos with the name C. Schohls, Berlin, so this may be the maker, but I have no details. I cannot guess whether 1928 is likely, I haven't seen what the piano looks like, but I will check our files for the period. 1928 seems quite late for sconces (candle holders).

[vernon]

Never seen a sconce(candlestick) after the first World War on a piano.

[Bill Kibby]

There are occasional pianos with that combination of Herrburger Brooks action (after 1919) and sconces which appear to be original, and then there are the electiric sconces, available in 1905, but more in evidence in the thirties.

[vernon]

I meant scnces with candles in!

[Bill Kibby]

Uprights of the twenties usually had spaces for sconces, and sconces were still on sale, but it is difficult to find any evidence to prove one single example was made with them originally, although various pianos and catalogues estimated to be from around 1920 show sconces.

[vernon]

something new I've learned--again.