R.Gors and Kallmann Antique Upright Piano

[G&K]

Hello, I just purchased my very first piano - a G&K over-strung over-damper model. There are large numbers stamped (25450) on the top left inside the piano which might be the casing number ?
On the right is another little paper sticker with 6904 and cox s underneath.
I have checked various other websites but they only start the numbering from 40000 in 1908.
Please if anyone has different resources to discover the age I would be very interested to know - is it a pre-1900 perhaps ?
Thanks very much !
PS The chap who reconditioned it several years ago is dropping it off on Sunday, so presumably he should know ?
http://i.ebayimg.com/t/R-Gors-and-Kallm ... ~60_58.JPG

[Bill Kibby]

Piano numbers are not as simple as people would like them to be, see
http://pianogen.org/numbers.html
That page also lists some action numbers, if the action is marked with a number, but you may have to ask your tuner to look for it. I would guess this might be around 1910, in spite of the number, see
http://pianogen.org/edwardian.html
For clues to date, see
http://pianogen.org/datemarks.html

[G&K]

Thanks for the quick response Bill - Yes I'll ask tech to look at the actions as I guess this is the last part to be assembled in the factory before shipment. Kind Regards

[Bill Kibby]

There were some G&K numbers like that around the early 1880s, but I can't imagine this one being that old. All I have is some rough estimates for these early numbers, and there seems to be more than one sequence, so some are probably not the true serial numbers. Even stranger things happened to them in the 1930s. Shortly after 1899, Charles Foulds & Son, Nottingham, Derby & Lincoln were Sole agents for Gors & Kallmann. I see that yours does not say "& Son" so it may be earlier. Foulds was established in 1893, so maybe it is between 1893-1900? They were using actions made by Lexow then. I see you are in East Anglia like me.
http://pianogen.org/tuning.html