Rud. Ibach Sohn

[Racworsley]

Hi, I am trying to find the age of my piano. It is a Rud. Ibach Sohn piano, marked Whitfield’s Limited Huddersfield in the right hand corner. I cannot find a serial number from Ibach, just a maker's stamp inside the bottom half of Rud. Ibach and a stamp of Whitfield’s Limited with serial number 14189 above the keyboard.
The piano keyboard comes out - as if it was made to be louder for a pub or hotel.
Any info about its age would be great,
Regards Rachel

[Bill Kibby]

Any relation to historian Lucy? I don't know what "the keyboard comes out" means, or how it makes it louder.

Whitfields were known as Whitfields Johnson until at least 1899, so the piano was sold by them in the 1900s, but you have not given me any information that would place it in sequence with the thousands of other Ibach pianos. No dates are available for Whitfields' stock numbers, but if 14189 is an Ibach serial number, it suggests 1887, so Whitfields would have sold it secondhand. Your best hope with an old German piano is that if your tuner feels it is safe to remove the action (the working parts of the notes) it may be marked on the back with the action makers' name and number, and I may be able to date this. Are you able to post photos here to show what the whole piano looks like?