Henry Schwander Paris piano

[hobbyexpress]

I recently rented a flat with a piano in it, mine to keep said my landlady. But it needs restoring and I don't know if it is worth the money I would have to spend on it or if I should sell it. Neither can I find any information on this piano.
It's a Henry Schwander Paris, inside is written 7063 , format 16 (I think) and a signiture of Henry Schwander.
Does anyone have more information on this piano, age, quality , anything which can make me decide what to do with it.

[Bill Kibby]

Jean Schwander, Paris, is a famous maker of piano actions, not the pianos themselves. The name can just about be seen in your photo, but it means very little to me in that form, except that Henry was of the same family, probably operating in the late 1800s.

Can you show us what the WHOLE piano looks like?

Henry will almost certainly have used actions made by Jean Schwander, and these are numbered on the rear, so ask your tuner to check whether this number and any other marks appear there.

[hobbyexpress]

Here are some more pictures

[Bill Kibby]

I think you have read my posting before I finished typing it, so please check. This is a typical French-style Pianino, very difficult to date by its appearance, because various firms made them over a long period, quite apart from the modern reproductions. It might be late Victorian, there are brief references to pianinos at
http://pianohistory.info/victorian.html

Pianinos by Anton Bord are very common, but I can't recall seeing one by Henry Schwander. Unfortunately, rarity has no cash value with pianos!

There is a reference on the net to a Henry Schwander piano #7017 being from 1900, I have no idea if that is correct, but it would seem to place yours slightly later.

[hobbyexpress]

I opened her up (please bear in mind I know little of piano's) and the only other marking on the inside was this one. It's hardly intelligible.

[Bill Kibby]

That's exactly the kind of mark I was hoping for but sadly, I can't read or recognise the maker of the action, and have no dates for these. Have you seen my page at
http://pianohistory.info/datemarks.html

[hobbyexpress]

I'll have look at those sites, I'm intrigued myself now If anything comes up I'll post it here and I'll see if I can make a more detailed photo, not easy though with an ipad. Thanks for your help!

[hobbyexpress]

From what I can see and deduce from other sites, the action is made by de Rohden.

[Bill Kibby]

Well spotted that man! I had already dismissed them, but you can see from this picture that the letters are not what they seem to be...

1920~DeRohdenKohl94n.jpg (56.32 KiB) Viewed 13638 times

I still don't know about date, I feel it is nearer 1890. Imagine Schwander not using a Schwander action!

[hobbyexpress]

There was amongst others a reference on this site to a marking C.de Rohden Patente, so this might be an earlier stamp they used. There was also a mention of the Rohden in a graduation treatise on Piano manufacturing 1860-2005. I suppose that you are right and it will be late 19th century then based on the photo from 1900 in the Maggo Roba shop in Liege. Thanks again!