Carl Hardt

[Mike Banks]

I have a piano by Carl Hardt--probably made sometime after1880 since it shows a medal it purports to have won in the 1870's. Inside the case is stamped number 5829. It is built to stand extremes of climate, so it says.

I hope someone can give me a little information about the makers and the instrument.

[Bill Kibby]

Hardt was established in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1855, and was still in business in 1911. There was a K. Hardt in Stuttgart later. Upright piano #7,465 by Carl Hardt, Stuttgart has the name Julius Bohm on the keys, with the date 3.3.08. The keys are double-bushed, ivory, 7 octaves A-A, with dollies. The tape check action was made by Kohler, and has the number 322,523, (which is about right for the date) and another number 49,078.

This probably puts yours before 1908, but can you give me precise details of the exhibition medals?

[Mike Banks]

Thank you for your swift and imformative reply! The medals were issued in London in 1862, Paris in 1867 and Wien in 1873.

The keys are ivory--but I have no idea who made them as I can find no information on them--and there are eighty five keys.

Hope this helps--

Mike

[Bill Kibby]

1. Valuation is impossible without on-the-spot inspection. There is no particular value in this name, it depends on internal condition.

2. Almost all surviving pianos were mass-produced.

3. Most collectors are not interested in victorian pianos.

4. There would be no way of knowing whether a stool was made by Hardt. Some pianos had stools included, some didn't. Some firms wouldn't take people off manufacturing pianos just to make stools, so seoarate firms made some.

[Jacira]

I own an antique black lacquer upright by Carl Hardt, Stuttgart which I purchased in Valparaiso, Chile in 1990.

It is marked "Unicos Representantes Carlos Doggenweiler y Hno, Santiago y Valparaiso".

Inside is the number 7331 and also a medal that says Gegründet 1855.

I shipped it back to the United States when I moved here in 1995 along with all of my household goods via sea going container. It is in excellent condition and fully restored, albeit with the candelabra marks on the front.

Any idea what year this piano might have been made?

Thanks in advance for any insight you can give me!

[Bill Kibby]

Unless there any dates of exhibition medals, I can't begin to guess without seeing it. See
http://www.uk-piano.org/piano-gen/reports.html

[Jacira]

Hi Bill,

Yes, as I stated in my original post, this piano does have a medal that says Gegründet 1855. I will take some pictures, optimize them and send them to you by e-mail attachment, if you wish.

Jacira

[Yanick]

Hi,

The Piano I have is F.Baucer/also with Medals from Wein 1873. Providing both piano's have genuine medals from ths exhibition, that puts 2 of these award winners in this country.

Thank you for your swift and imformative reply! The medals were issued in London in 1862, Paris in 1867 and Wien in 1873.

The keys are ivory--but I have no idea who made them as I can find no information on them--and there are eighty five keys.

Hope this helps--

Mike

[Bill Kibby]

To answer Jacira, the one marked "gegrundet 1855" is not an exhibition medal, it simply states when the firm was founded, which is mentioned above. If it was 1873, that would tell us that the piano was made after that date.

It would be great to see it, but please don't post photos here, if you have logged in you can press the email button below. Interior details are especially helpful.

VIENNA INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION
1873 Vienna International Exhibition: Ehrlich says "Henry Ivory, with an optimistic disregard for obsolescence, displayed three cheap, wooden- framed straight-strung uprights with primitive sticker actions": In fact, Henry Ivory was not unusual, the majority of London's vast piano trade was producing such pianos then, a fact which I would have expected Professor Ehrlich to have known!
1873 Pleyel exhibited two concert grands and a shorter model at the Vienna Exhibition, and received the Hors de Concours. The pianos had wrought iron frames, not cast iron.
1873 Carl Hardt received a medal at the Vienna Exhibition.
1873 Gebauhr received a medal at the Vienna exhibition.
1873 F. Baucer (Hamburg?) received a medal.
1879 An inscription on the wooden standard of a Schwander action, when translated, says - Makers of Actions for Pianos, Jean Schwander & Herrburger, Expositions Universelles - Silver Medal, Paris (year illegible) Gold Medal, Paris 1878, Vienne Progres 1873. 45 Rue De L'Evangile 16 Paris. [This is illustrated on my PianoGen website.]

[donellyfan]

I have a Carl Hardt Piano!
I'm trying to restore it as it was given to me in a very bad shape. I took all the keys off and there was one with a pencil inscription that says: 15 December 1896!! I'm not sure if this is the construction date... can anyone help?
The serial number of mine is 4897.
Hope this info is useful.

Vasco Nunes

[Bill Kibby]

This could well be the date it was made, no exact dates of Hardt's numbers are available, so it is certainly interesting. Have a look at the Datemarks page at www.PianoGen.org

[donellyfan]

Can anyone help me find tutorials and info on restoring upright pianos? I need help with the action part of my Carl Hardt piano. I know it is a hard job but i'm a good learner...
Thanks

[Bill Kibby]

Sounds a bit like learning to play Beethvoen's fifth by Tuesday fortnight. We spend years learning how to do this, under qualified supervision.

[donellyfan]

Hey guys, check my Carl Hardt upright restoring work here:
http://picasaweb.google.pt/vascobnunes/ ... directlink
Almost done, i'm painting it and its looking good.
The action part is still a problem, but i dismounted it all and fixed all "hammers". Now i need to level the keys and start thinking about tunning.
Cheers