Ferd.Manthey / Andreas Christensen

[CJT Bohlin]

I just got an old piano and would very much like to know more about it. The name on the front is "Ferd. Manthey, Berlin-London-Florenz" and inside it says "I Andreas Christensen piano og flygelfabrik" and a number, "7270". Where and when was this piano made? And has it's insides been replaced? Why else the non-matching company names? Any insight I can get on this will be greatly appreciated!

[Bill Kibby]

Its is practically unheard of for a piano to have its "insides replaced". Many pianos have two names on them, the maker (Manthey, Berlin) and the retailer (presumably Christensen).

You mention 7272 but the photo shows 7270, are both of these numbers in the piano? If either of them were a serial number, it would suggest that the piano was made around 1908, which seems possible.

If your tuner removes the action, it may be marked on the rear with the action makers' name and number, and I may be able to date this.

[CJT Bohlin]

The number is 7270, anything else is a typo. It is stamped in two places inside the instrument, seemingly with the same stamp (which also tells us this Christensen-guy somehow has been involved).

I just got the piano delivered yesterday, but I'll have a tuner look at it as soon it feels at home here. I have heard one should wait a couple of weeks, is that correct? It's fully playable as is, anyway.

Thank you very much for your help!

The other place it's stamped.

[Bill Kibby]

I am sorry I don't know about Christensen, but the way the number is stamped seems unlike a serial number. Then again, the stamp appears to be set up with the number, which is strange.

Opinions vary about how long a piano should be left to settle into the new environment before it is tuned, but I would say this... If the tuning has been neglected, and is noticably bad, it will take more than one tuning to fix it, and it doesn't really matter about settling in.

[CJT Bohlin]

Looking at my own photos I realise the number and the name are from individual stamps; they are not aligned the same way in both places. As it has been standing in my mother's house before I know for a fact the piano has not been tuned in twenty years. I actually remember it; I must have been about eight years old at the time, if that. To my ears the piano sounds fine though, just about 1/10 tone flat all over.

I also discovered two fine cracks in what I believe is called the soundboard, and that tiny spiders, at least at some point, have found the instrument habitable. How may these circumstances affect performance and/or value? (Not that I'm thinking about selling it for any foreseeable future, though)

[CJT Bohlin]

A gentle swipe of a moist cloth revealed the same number stamped differently. It's debossed, or whatever it's called: The numbers are sunk into the wood by pressure, rather than printed in ink on the surface. Does this more resemble a serial number?

[Bill Kibby]

Yes, that is much more normal, but it reinforces my feeling that the 1908 number is correct. Spiders are nothing to worry about, they like pianos. Cracks in the soundboard vary greatly, you need a technician to look at them and decide if they are a problem. They come in several varieties...

1. Cracks or crazing in the varnish are not a problem.
2. Slight cracks in the joins in the soundboard are not a problem until they open up more. When they open out enough, the two edges can buzz against each other, and have a very annoying effect. When they open out even more, the buzzing stops, but the tonal quality will suffer. Do please read
http://pianogen.org/central.html

[CJT Bohlin]

Thanks again! Great site, very informative! I'm bookmarking that one right away.

You write that the number, if a serial number, would indicate manufacture in 1908. Where do you find this information? I've searched the web for a list of serial numbers, but haven't had any luck.

[Bill Kibby]

Manthey's serial numbers are listed in several piano atlases (books) including the Pierce Piano Atlas.