J&J Hopkinson - how old please?

[hazel]

Hi i have had my piano for 20 years, and im just wondering if anyone can tell me how old it is. The number inside is 42954.

Thank you in advance :)

[Colin Nicholson]

can I ask, exactly where on the piano did you find those numbers?

this may be a stock number, and some numbers are meaningless. You need the SERIAL NUMBER....
look inside again, near tuning pins (remove front panel if needed).
The numbers you gave suggest mid 1880s ... but your piano may be a lot younger.

Send a photo if you can of the whole piano.

[hazel]

Hi, thats where i got the number from, i have taken all the wooden parts of the piano and thats what i found on the inside, thanks again

[Colin Nicholson]

send a photo if possible.....

[Bill Kibby]

Now that the forum software has finally let me in after several days, Colin is right, the number suggests a date around 1883, but it is not always that simple, most pianos have several numbers inside.

Would you be able to post photos of it here, or email them to me to post?

Assuming this is Victorian, have a look at
http://www.pianohistory.info/victorian.html

[hazel]

Hi, i have tried to upload photos and they have been refused, can i email them to someone then you can post them for me thank you

[Bill Kibby]

If you use the email button to the right of my posts, you can't attach photos until I reply, so it is simpler to go to pianohistory.info and press the email button.

Did you look at that link?

[hazel]

thank you i have sent you an email

[Bill Kibby]

Although the number is very clear, it does not conform to the published dates, so I can only hope there is another long number somewhere. It has something of the look of an Edwardian piano, as described at
http://www.pianohistory.info/edwardian.html
but I would guess about 1895, in spite of the number suggesting 1883. If you want to search for clues inside the piano, have a look at
http://www.pianohistory.info/datemarks.html

The interior view was rejected by the forum software because it was too big, but it is nice to see a clearer picture of what the piano looks like, without the stool in the way.

[Bill Kibby]

Whenever someone seeks information, they also have the potential to provide me with useful information. I am intrigued by this piano because my own 1896 Hopkinson conforms to published dates of numbers, and it looks much more modern than yours. Yours has the "cylinder fall", which curves away under the front of the keyboard. I have modified the wording on my Victorian page
http://www.pianohistory.info/victorian.html

after checking through many photos of the 1880s, and I think that 1884 is just about as late as your piano is likely to be, in spite of the more modern looking front panels, and the trusses supporting the keyboard.

If your tuner thinks it is safe to remove the action, it may have markings on the rear that may help us.

[hazel]

Hi, thank you for your input, i am having real trouble uploading pictures, i have found someone in pencil has written tuned by Edmund J white 1897 and feb 1900, I dont have a tuner, but i have taken every panel that comes of and i cant find any more, so if you can point me i the direction of where their might be any more numbers i can try and find them, thank you

[Bill Kibby]

Edmund White seems to have tuned it in 1897. J.White does not appear in our files for 1886. By 1894, the firm was listed in Chesterfield, so they probably sold the piano after 1886, but it may not have been new then. However, the term "selected" suggests that they sold it new.

This picture shows the rear of the action of an 1891 Hopkinson, but even if the action comes out easily, it could risk damage to remove it, and the datemarks link I gave you offers a possible location of a date under the keys.