Age of W.G.Eavestaff upright

[Bjcameron1]

Hi there, we have an upright piano and are wondering what its history may be.

We purchased it at auction about 5 yrs ago in central Otago, New Zealand.

It has W.G.Eavestaff with an address of 60 Great Russell Street Bloomsbury London under the piano key lid. The serial number stamped on the internal frame is 4622.

The internal frame is also wooden rather than metal if that helps to age it.

Appreciate any information you may be able to provide and can provide some photos if that helps....

[Bill Kibby]

As you can read at
http://pianohistory.info/archives.html
Established in 1823, Eavestaff was a music publisher, but he soon began to sell pianos, and by the 1840s he was listed as a pianoforte maker, offering typical cottage pianos, then typical uprights in the early 1900s.

He was at 66 Great Russell Street by 1826, and still there in the 1870s, but doesn't seem to have been described as W.G. (William Glen) until the 1860s. I don't think that number will help us, but photos of the whole piano would enable me to tell you more.

Some modern Eavestaff numbers can be found near the bottom of the page at
http://pianohistory.info/numbers.html

[Bjcameron1]

Thanks for the prompt reply. I have attached some photographs to assist.

[Bill Kibby]

Thanks for those photos, they provide me with a very useful estimate of 1865 for the number. Apart from the legs, this is a typical Victorian Cottage Piano, as described at
http://pianogen.org/victorian.html
and although that page would suggest a date circa 1865, my estimate from the photos of this individual piano happens to be 1865.

[Bjcameron1]

Thanks again for your prompt response...i guess our final question would be whether you are aware of any archives for Eavestaff that we could use to find out who the original purchaser may have been and from that trace the history of our particular piano?

We would love to find out how this piano ended up in Central Otago....especially considering it takes 6 people to carry it from the kerb to the house...

[Bill Kibby]

The short answer is NO! Have a look at
http://pianogen.org/archives.html

I regularly move Cottage Pianos on my own, with the aid of a good piano trolley. If you think it is heavy, you should try our Bluthner!