F. Rubinstein & Co. what age is my piano?

[Anne.hornecker]

Recently bought a piano with the name F. Rubinstein on it and i searched online to find anything about it and i couldn't. Can anyone help me?? Please? The serial # on it is 08580 and made by Sam Walker 96 leeds rd Bradford.

[Bill Kibby]

Many pianos have 2 names on them, the maker and the retailer, but "Rubinstein" seems to have been an alias used by the retailer Walker on pianos bought in from anonymous wholesalers. Some appear to be German, some are British, and some labelled "Rubinstein, Prague". Serial numbers do not run in a single sequence, so they don't help us with dates.

In general, the name of a piano does not tell us how old it is, but if you are able to post photos of the whole piano here, or email them to me to post, this may tell us more.

My earliest general list of Leeds piano firms is 1886, and Walker is not on it. He is there in 1894, and 1899, but gone by 1911, so the piano would probably have been made between 1887 and 1910.

For more clues, have a look at my Edwardian page at
http://www.pianohistory.info/

[Anne.hornecker]

Thanks for the reply! here are some photos of it. we have also noticed that it might have had two candle stick holders or something on each side but they were removed. We are not a 100% sure about that though.

[Bill Kibby]

This is quite possibly a genuine, original Rubinstein, made around 1896 I would guess. It has various interior features which are typical of German pianos.

[RYANN]

Hi Bill

I am considering buying an old Rubinstein Prague upright piano. I have attached some photos. It appears quite old and is in need of repairs to at least 8 keys and one of the pedals. It otherwise seems basically sound, no evidence of rodent or insect or water damage.

I can find almost no information about it anywhere but for this item on your forum. Can you tell me anything about this piano?

I am trying to work out if it would be worthwhile spending much on getting it moved and back into playing order?

Many thanks in anticipation.

Nigel

[Bill Kibby]

This is obviously a different Rubinstein, based in Prague, and I have no details about him, although the pianos turn up occasionally. Could you give us photos to show what the whole piano looks like on the outside?

There is useful general information about upright pianos at
http://www.pianohistory.info/edwardian.html

The most important factor deciding the value of an old piano is not its name, but its condition, and the most important aspect of that is whether it holds in tune, because if it doesn't, repairs can cost over a thousand pounds, and this is usually more than an old piano is worth. Nobody anywhere can guess the value or condition of a piano without inspecting it on the spot, and checking whether it will hold in tune. Piano dealers don't usually deal in antiques, and antiques dealers don't know much about pianos, so your local tuner is the best person to ask.
l

[RYANN]

Thanks Bill, this is very helpful.

I have attached a photo of the piano

Nigel

[Bill Kibby]

I have already seen this picture on the Pinterest website, it is possibly the only piano by this maker illustrated online. In spite of being made in Prague, it resembles the German uprights of the 1890s shown at
http://www.pianohistory.info/edwardian.html
and I would guess it was made around 1898.

[GrahamSes]

I have a Robert Westphal Germany/Berlin Upright piano with the serial number: 7585.
Can you help me to find the Piano Age Year of manufacturing?

Thanks

[Bill Kibby]

You would have a much better chance of useful responses if you post this enquiry as a new topic, because it has nothing to do with Rubinstein. My Numbers page
http://www.pianohistory.info/numbers.html
explains that dating pianos purely on the basis of numbers is not always as simple as it seems. Published dates of numbers are often wrong or misleading, and I don't think any are available for Westphal anyway. If you can post photos here to show what the whole piano looks like, or email them to me to post, I may be able to estimate the date, but have a look at my Edwardian page for clues.
http://www.pianohistory.info/edwardian.html

[andybrook]

Hello all

Can anyone tell me what this kind of mechanism is referred to as? My friend has the same piano and took this out to tune it but it appears to be incorrectly refitted as the pedals do not operate correctly

[Barrie Heaton]

The correct term is overdamped however in the United States a lot of tuners: call them birdcage Pianos.

As for the pedals not working, that's more likely that the pedals themselves just need adjusting.

Barrie