George Rogers & Sons Boudoir Grand

[MRJB1812]

My late father-in-law was the very proud possessor of a Rogers "Boudoir Grand" piano that he purchased in the early 1960's. Unfortunately, by the time of his death a couple of years ago, the piano had not been played for many, many years due to his increasing infirmity. When his wife moved into a sheltered complex earlier this year, my wife and I were able to gain access to the piano. The cosmetic damage to the case and action were fairly obvious (it had been used as a plant pot stand in later years!!), but after consulting a local piano retailer, it became evident that the damage was much more fundamental - three significant splits in the soundboard. The choice was stark - major rebuild (totally uneconomic) or skip. After much agonising, sentiment ruled over financial reality and the rebuild was commissioned. The serial numbers are with documentation in the showroom, so I don't have them to hand at present. It was initially thought that the piano could date from around 1903 (from a number stencilled on the case underneath the keys - I think it was around 18,500). However, the restorers have located a frame number (around 3,400, I believe) that appears to suggest a much earlier date of manufacture. I would be very interested to hear from anyone who has experience of a similar piano.

PS The piano has just returned and is "resting" in the showroom before final adjustments are made.

[Bill Kibby]

It's difficult to know what is similar because you haven't told us anything except the name. Could you email me some photos? Have a look at the Numbers page at www.PianoGen.org

[MRJB1812]

I do have some photographs taken pre-restoration, but the files are rather large. Which address is the best to send them to?

[MRJB1812]

Regarding the various serial numbers:

The number found initially was 18939, stencilled onto a block at the end of the action.

Subsequently, two other numbers have been found:

3457 - apparently located by the restorers during rebuild. The opinion in the showroom is that it doesn't seem to be consistent with the style of the piano. Hopefully we can establish where it was found.

416139 - on the mounting bar underneath the Schwander action (the Schwander factory number?).

[Bill Kibby]

18939 suggests about 1899. The Schwander numbers shown at the bottom of my Numbers page suggest 1898, and it is rarely possible to get more accurate than that! My email address should be below this posting.

[MRJB1812]

Many thanks for the information. It is helpful to try to build up some background.

Until now, the information I have had has been anecdotal and only covered the few years prior to my father-in-law's purchase. According to those accounts, immediately prior to his purchase, the piano was located in the concert hall at the end of Southend pier - probably not the ideal location; lots of heating and cooling and plenty of salty sea breezes.

We have been told that the pier did not own a piano around that time (by the chap who used to tune them) but hired one in by the season.

At the moment, I'm not sure how to attach photographs using the email link at the bottom of your posting, but I'll work on it.

[Bill Kibby]

Lucky you rescued it before the end of the pier ended up up-ended!

[MRJB1812]

I'm not sure if this will work, but you may be able to see some photos of the piano on this link

http://picasaweb.google.com/mrjb1812/Ge ... udoirGrand

They are not particularly good, but may give some idea of the piano's appearance.