Dale, Forty piano

[Bill Kibby]

Seven octaves (85 notes) and two pedals is the normal arrangement for most british pianos over a very long period. Dale Forty pianos were made by several factorties, so dating by numbers is not usually possible. See the datemarks page on my website. I can also quote for a general booklet on the firm, or ocmpile a report based on photos.

[Bill Kibby]

I just realised that you said "early nineteenth century": Dale Forty weren't around until the late 1800s, and most of their own pianos are from the 1900s.

[PianoGuy]

A 19th Century Dale Forty can be dated from its paper label. Yours is 1883, and was the 263rd piano sold that year.

20th C. Dale Fortys can be dated from the number stamped on the inside of the top door preceded by either one or two stars. One star denotes new, two stars second hand. The first number will always be a 9, and means 1900+, the next two numbers the exact year. Thus **926001 would be a second hand piano sold in 1926. 001 means the first sold that year.

So:
*932026 would be the 26th piano sold in 1932 new.
**941643 would be the 643rd piano sold in 1941 second hand

This code works for pianos sold only from the Cheltenham shop.

Etc. Hope this helps.

PG

[Bill Kibby]

I'm fascinated, does this mean you have original archive material, or is 4634 a code for the date and the number sold that year, like the later ones?

[PianoGuy]

I'm fascinated, does this mean you have original archive material, or is 4634 a code for the date and the number sold that year, like the later ones?

No, the 4634 is probably just a factory number (Dale Forty had some of their pianos built elsewhere) In this case, the 86263 is the important number. Seeing that this is a 19th Century piano, the prefix of * and 9 had not been introduced, so the first two numbers are the year of sale and the following three the number sold that year.

Hence 1886, the 263rd piano sold that year.

Best

PG

[Bill Kibby]

Your first posting said 1883, which agreed with my estimate of the Schwander action number, but I can see the sense in it being 1886.

[PianoGuy]

My mistake!! Hope all's clear now!!

You're a resourceful and informed fellow, Mr. K!!

Warmest Regards

PG