Upright Piano by H Hicks & Son Ltd

Bougainvillea · Post by **Bougainvillea** » 16 Jan 2006, 10:02

I have one of these, although I do not know the age of it. Has been in my family for over 50 years. Has 3 Gold medals displayed on the inside of the lid.The middle one refers to 'Gold Medal 1899 London' I have viewed previous corespondence (May 2004) - Where can I find the serial number please? Any idea of approx. value?
Many thanks

Post by **Gill the Piano** » 16 Jan 2006, 17:21

Look inside the top, among the tuning pins - usually to the left or right-hand ends of the piano. That's normally where a serial number can be found lurking.

Bougainvillea · Post by **Bougainvillea** » 17 Jan 2006, 09:49

Thanks for that - meantime I found a No. Bottom RH side of metal frame - No. 106. Guess that's not the right one then!

Post by **Gill the Piano** » 17 Jan 2006, 17:21

No, it's more likely to have five or more digits. But even with the number, Hicks weren't a well-known make and their numbers may not be listed. There's an outside chance of finding a date under either of the end keys, either on the key itself or on the wooden keyframe underneath, or maybe a tuner's date scribbled on one of the keys or the action wooden parts. Why not get your tuner to look for you, next time you have it tuned?

Bougainvillea · Post by **Bougainvillea** » 18 Jan 2006, 14:57

I have found a number! 14149. If Hicks is not a well-known make, what are the 'medal' things all about- any body know please?

Post by **Gill the Piano** » 18 Jan 2006, 17:28

I've found an invoice in my collection for Hicks pianos. I can't give you verbatim details at the mo, as a friend is doing some graphology on them for me, but if I remember right,the heading said that Hicks were founded in 1875. The invoice I have is from 1909. If it's from a piano sale, there may be a serial number on it, which in conjunction with the date on the invoice might give us a rough idea of the date of yours. I'm getting them back tomorrow, so I'll have a look for you then.
The medal thing is a list of the awards from various exhibitions (like the Great Exhibition, but they went on for years and were an endless source of amusement and vitriol for the piano industry. If a firm was awarded one, even from the minor exhibitions, details of it went straight onto the pianos as soon as possible to add kudos). Look at the dates on these medals (there probably is one if you look closely enough), and you'll know your piano was made after that date...we have to narrow the field a bit!
Bill on the History bit knows far more than me on different firms, and has far more info at his fingertips than I do, so you could always send him a private message or ask on the history page.

PianoGuy · Post by **PianoGuy** » 18 Jan 2006, 19:51

I think Hicks were in the Old Kent Rd.

They used to have a logo which looked like an impressive office building or architectural marvel, until you realised it was a bad perspective graphic of a mouse's eye view of a couple of upright pianos at 90ş to one another.

They were unremarkable straight strungs in the main, although they had a neat hinged celeste rail which was a better design than most.

Bougainvillea · Post by **Bougainvillea** » 19 Jan 2006, 12:41

Thanks guys! Latest date on medals is 1899 London. I have 2 addresses- New Kent Rd, and 2 Lewisham High Road New Cross. Yes it's straight strung, mahogany with inlay on front and at one time must have had candle holders, although just the fixings remain. Have never known it to have the full fittings for these.

Post by **Gill the Piano** » 19 Jan 2006, 17:53

BINGO! I've got my file back, and the Hicks bit is actually a warranty for piano number 13824, dated April the 24th 1909. So yours would be just a wee bit later. Their factory was in Falmouth Road and showrooms and offices at 53,55,57 and 59 Old Kent Road (London).
The sconces (candlesticks) would have been taken off in the 20's, probably, when to have sconces on your piano implied you couldn't afford electricity. So your piano is a fashion victim...!

andyaeola · Post by **andyaeola** » 12 Jun 2006, 14:45

Friends of ours just acquired a "Hicks & Son of London" piano for sixty quid (I think they just paid for the move), and it's a really nice piece of furniture.
Small enough to fit perfectly between a radiator and the kitchen door, their 7 year old loves it.
Beautiful walnut polish finish. I like to see a bit of grain. What caught my eye was the mother of pearl leaves inlay in an oblong pattern around & behind the music rest. Not overdone, very tasteful.

Two questions:
1.Can anyone roughly date it from this mother of pearl decoration/walnut finish?(the top was immediatly decorated by the new owners with 25 photos of their two children and a fair amount of nic-nacs so it's unlikely I'm ever going to get a peek inside).
2.Can someone remind me when black become de-rigour? Certainly pre-WW1 all pianos seem to have been finished in natural colour woods.

Andy

PianoGuy · Post by **PianoGuy** » 12 Jun 2006, 18:15

andyaeola wrote:Friends of ours just acquired a "Hicks & Son of London" piano for sixty quid (I think they just paid for the move), and it's a really nice piece of furniture.
Small enough to fit perfectly between a radiator and the kitchen door, their 7 year old loves it.

Perfect.
The steam from the kitchen will drench one end whilst the rad wil dessicate the other. You'll keep your tuner in business.

andyaeola · Post by **andyaeola** » 12 Jun 2006, 20:07

Yes, I didn't say anything to them as the steam and heat are unlikely to worsen the stunning

timbre. As an instrument, it's effectively come to the end of it's life, but it is a nice free sideboard. I'm guessing it's Edwardian or late Victorian (weren't Chinese mother of pearl styles popular around then?) I just hope the child gets enough encouragement from her teacher to continue.

I hinted that a tuner would cost not far off what they've paid out already, but from the looks I got the likelihood of any technician attending is 'slim'. I tried to get them a matching free piano stool today but the one from outside of the 'Piano Man' premises near Basildon that was offered to me a few months ago had gone in the skip.

Andy

Post by **Bill Kibby** » 15 Jun 2006, 10:00

Gill's paperwork shows that Henry Hicks piano #13824 is dated 1909. #16480 is about 1923, so the one listed above is between those dates. This puts it around the 1914-18 war, when everything ground to a halt, so dates will be approximate, but there may be a datemark, see
http://www.uk-piano.org/piano-gen/datem ... ianos.html

I can quote for printing historical notes and copies of old paperwork on Henry Hicks if anyone is interested. They certainly did show a picture of their factory on their headings, and although it wasn't the largest, it wasn't a picture of a piano either! The medal simply shows it was after 1899, see
http://www.uk-piano.org/piano-gen/piano ... tions.html