Reinhard, Berlin

[Sam Moulton]

This upright piano has been in our family since about 1910 and was, I think, new when we got it. It is still in very good condition on the outside and has been tuned regularly, but needs work on the inside, although it still plays passably. I would like to find out if anything much is known of Reinhard of Berlin, as all my internet searches so far have turned up nothing.

[Bill Kibby]

The Blue Book of Pianos says "Pianos and player-pianos of popular characteristics made by Wissner & Sons, Inc., of Brooklyn, N. Y. These instruments are durable and have been on the market for years. Office, 55-57 Flatbush Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y.

Is yours likely to be American? And is it spelt correctly? We don't see them this side of the ocean.

[PianoGuy]

This upright piano has been in our family since about 1910 and was, I think, new when we got it. It is still in very good condition on the outside and has been tuned regularly, but needs work on the inside, although it still plays passably. I would like to find out if anything much is known of Reinhard of Berlin, as all my internet searches so far have turned up nothing.

The ficticious name of Rheinhardt was often affixed to pianos (of any make!) when the transfer became obliterated or removed during repolishing by Mickleburgh's in Bristol. I think this practice continued until the '60s.

Are you sure it's not one of these?

[Sam Moulton]

Thanks for your help. The spelling is definitely correct. The name on the inside of the lid is Reinhard and, in smaller letters, Berlin. These are made of brass letters set into the wood. I now notice that this section of the wood is not the same as the rest, so the name may have been changed. I am almost certain, though, that this would not have been done at any time since before WW1, and less likely still to have been done in Bristol, as the piano was in Bromley from about 1910 until 1966, since when I know it has not been altered.
The piano was given to my great-grandmother by Clem Harvey, a concert pianist of the late 19th century, who wished to marry her. We have always assumed that he would have given her the best and newest, but perhaps he was not the gallant suitor he professed to be and picked up a reconditioned piece of junk from Bristol and passed it off as a generous gift. In any case my great-grandmother did not marry him and he ended his days playing the Werlitzer at the Bromley cinema. The piano must have been of reasonable quality though, as she was an excellent pianist herself and not short of money, so she could have changed it for something else in later years had she so wished.
Someone else has suggested to me that Reinhard would have been the name of the dealer, and that it could have been made by someone else. The quality of the lettering and lengths gone to in order to match up the wood suggest that it was not just done by someone who had inadvertently erased the original name. Would there be any other way of telling the actual manufacturer?

[Bill Kibby]

If you have an inlaid brass name, then it is almost certainly the original name. It is sometimes difficult to repolish these without damaging them, and one option is to leave a rectangle around the name untouched, perhaps this is what you see. Have a look at the Piano Names page at my website. If you know how to remove the action safely, it may be marked with the action makers' name and number, and we may be able to date this.