1. Chickering Baby Grand Piano For Sale
2. Chickering Baby Grand Piano Value
3. Chickering Baby Grand Piano Serial Number
4. Chickering Baby Grand Piano Prices
5. Chickering Baby Grand Piano Boston

Serial number 263274, Call us at (918)299-8863 to test play this piano today or if you have any questions. The knob on the right is slightly crushed, please view pictures for details. Even though it is a used piano, it has been cleaned and is in great condition. 1916/1917 Chickering & Sons Grand Piano This is the test of the keys performed after it was dusted out. Serial Number: 127197 Style & Scale: AH-133 Piano is for sale, link to craigslist listing. The Chickering Piano Registry Serial Number __ Type __ Year of Manufacture __ Current Location/E-mail Address (Click on Serial Number for additional information.). I own the 26th chickering grand piano made. The serial# is 126 and chickering started making pianos in 1823 starting with serial# 100. Took some time to find the number but it is about one. Guest16015170 I have a Chickering baby grand (serial # 242048) purchased in 1978. Looking to see what the approximate value of this piano is for resale. If you have a Chickering piano that is need of repair or refurbishing, we encourage you to contact us to discuss the needs of your piano. Almost always, we have found that Chickering grand pianos are worth saving. Contact Michael Sweeney about your Chickering grand piano. Blackford, A History of Small Business in America. UNC Press, Chapel Hill, NC.

I have just been a recipient of a Chickering Grand piano.and I was doing some research and found the above site, where you could find out approximately when your Chickering was born. It states however, that the serial number 100 was made in 1823 and then it jumps to 10,000 in 1850, so your piano was made during that quarter century.

Chickering & Sons was an American piano manufacturer located in Boston, Massachusetts, known for producing award-winning instruments of superb quality and design. The company was founded in 1823 by Jonas Chickering and James Stewart, but the partnership dissolved four years later. By 1830 Jonas Chickering became partners with John Mackay, manufacturing pianos as 'Chickering & Company', and later 'Chickering & Mackays' until the senior Mackay's death in 1841, and reorganized as 'Chickering & Sons' in 1853. Chickering pianos continued to be made until 1983.

History[edit]

It was P.T. Barnum who persuaded Jenny Lind - the Swedish Nightingale - to make a concert tour of the United States. After her agreement, Barnum commissioned the Chickering company to manufacture a custom grand piano for her nationwide tour, ultimately involving 93 performances. The piano was completed by August 1850; Lind arrived in September and the concert series began in Boston. Her pianist was Otto Goldschmidt, whom she married at the end of her tour.

Coincidentally, as the tour began, Henry E. Steinway (Steinweg) and his large family arrived in New York as immigrants from Germany. Henry attended the opening night of the NYC concert series but showed little interest in the diva. His profound interest was in the Chickering piano, to which he dashed for such careful examination that he nearly had to be hauled away so the concert could begin.

On December 1, 1852, a massive fire destroyed Chickering's piano factory located at 336 Washington Street in Boston. One policeman was killed. The walls of the building collapsed, and set adjoining structures on fire. A new factory was built in 1853-54 at 791 Tremont Street in Boston. From 1860-1868 space in the building was the location of the Spencer Repeating Rifle Company, who made over 100,000 rifles and carbines for the U.S. Army and sportsmen from 1862-1868.^[1] This structure still stands today. It was renovated into artist studios in 1972.^[2]

Jonas Chickering made several major contributions to the development of piano technology, most notably by introducing a one-piece, cast-iron plate to support the greater string tension of larger grand pianos. He also invented a new deflection of the strings, and in 1845 the first convenient method for over stringing in square pianos. Instead of setting the strings side by side, the company introduced substituting an arrangement of the string in two banks, one over the other. This not only saved space but brought the powerful bass strings directly over the most resonant part of the sound-board, a principle used to this day in the construction of all pianos, both grands and uprights.

Chickering was the largest piano manufacturer in the United States in the middle of the 19th century, but was surpassed in the 1860s by Steinway. In 1867, Jonas's son Frank Chickering had the Imperial Cross of the Legion of Honour, then one of the world's most prestigious non-military awards, bestowed upon him by Emperor Napoleon III for services to the art of music, one of more than 200 awards the piano manufacturer garnered over the years.

The company became in 1908 part of the American Piano Company (Ampico),^[3] and continued after the merger in 1932 of American with the Aeolian Company, to form Aeolian-American. That company went out of business in 1985, and the Chickering name continued to be applied to new pianos produced by Wurlitzer and then the Baldwin Piano Company. The brand is now defunct.

Chickering Halls[edit]

The firm commissioned and operated several concert halls in Boston and New York:

• Chickering's building, Boston (c. 1850s), no.334 Washington St.^[4]
• Chickering's Hall, Boston (1860-1870), no.246 Washington St.^[5]
• Chickering Hall concert auditorium, 130 5th Avenue, New York City (1877), designed by George B. Post, and the venue for Oscar Wilde's first lecture in America in 1882 (razed) ^[6][7]
• Chickering Hall, Boston (1883-c. 1894), no.152 Tremont St., near West St.^[8]
• Chickering Hall, Boston (1901-c. 1912), Huntington Ave., corner of Massachusetts Ave.^[4]
• Chickering Hall, 27 West 57th Street, NYC (1923), designed by Cross & Cross (1924)^[9]

Images[edit]

• The Chickering factory in 1895.

• Portrait of George H. Chickering (d.1899)^[10]

• Antique piano at Stanley Hotel

• Chickering Hall, New York, no.130 5th Av.

• Chickering Hall, Boston, Huntington Ave., c. 1900s

• Chickering Monument by Thomas Ball (1872).

References[edit]

1. ^Marcot, Roy A. 'Spencer Repeating Firearms' 1995.
2. ^Chickering Piano Works Fire at CelebrateBoston.com
3. ^Grove's dictionary of music and musicians. NY: 1920
4. ^ ^abThe commemoration of the founding of the house of Chickering & Sons upon the eightieth anniversary of the event, 1823-1903. Boston: Chickering & Sons, 1904
5. ^'Closing of a Well-Known Concert Room.' Dwight's Journal of Music, v.30, no.5, May 21, 1870.
6. ^https://web.archive.org/web/20121001003758/http://www.oscarwildeinamerica.org/lecture-tour/0109-new-york.html
7. ^Source: New York 1880: Architecture and Urbanism in the Gilded Age, Robert A.M. Stern (Author), Thomas Mellins (Author), David Fishman (Author)
8. ^'Americanization of piano trade in U.S. exemplified by Chickering & Sons.' The Music Trades, April 5, 1919
9. ^Miller, Tom. 'The 1924 Chickering Hall -- No. 27-29 West 57th Street'. Daytonian in Manhattan. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
10. ^George H. Chickering Dead; Last Male Survivor of the Well-Known Family of Piano-forte Makers Passes Away in Boston.' New York Times, November 18, 1899

Further reading[edit]

• Chickering & Sons. Catalog, 1883
• Chickering & Sons. Exhibit of musical instruments, Boston, 1902

Chickering Baby Grand Piano For Sale

External links[edit]

• Chickering in the grand piano-Photoarchive^{[permanent dead link]}
• Boston Public Library. Chickering Piano Factory building. Boston, South End. Photo by J.J. Hawes, 19th century
• Flickr.
  • Photo of Piano Factory, Tremont St., South End, Boston, 2011
  • Photo of Piano Factory, Tremont St., South End, Boston, 2010

What is the Value of My Piano?

It is impossible for us to appraise an old piano over the Web. You should contact a piano technician in your area who can inspect the instrument. Since we receive a large number of emails each day, we cannot respond to research inquiries about pianos but hope the information on this page is useful.

It is difficult, if not impossible, to appraise an old piano without close examination of it. Even with such examination, there are no guidelines that can be applied to determining the worth of a piano, like there are for used cars. A piano technician has to make a determination of a piano’s worth based on a number of factors, many of which are not apparent to the untrained eye or ear. People often believe their pianos are worth a certain amount because they are “antiques.' While these instruments may be from an earlier time and in some cases, a work of art, an old piano differs considerably from an old piece of furniture and cannot be evaluated in the same way. While some old pianos were constructed with beautiful hardwoods and have intricate art cases, as desirable as this may be, a piano’s primary purpose is that of a musical instrument. There are a number of factors that go into the process of evaluating a piano’s worth including: 1. the type of the piano; 2. the size of the piano; 3. the make or brand of the piano; 4. the age of the piano and 5. the condition of the piano.

1. Types of Pianos – The main types of modern pianos are uprights, grands, and square pianos (or square grands). Uprights or verticals can further be broken down into spinets, console/studio uprights, or full uprights. Nearly all squares were built prior to 1890. Grand pianos can further be broken down by size (see below). All things being equal (brand, age, condition), grands are worth more than verticals and verticals more than squares for reasons that will be discussed below.

2. Piano Size – The size of a piano has some impact on its sound, performance and its worth. The table below provides more detailed information about piano sizes.

Chickering Baby Grand Piano Value

Generally, larger pianos are worth more than a smaller ones. Condition being equal, a full-size upright will produce greater sound than a small spinet due in part to a greater string length and soundboard area. Likewise, a large grand will produce greater sound than a small baby grand piano and so is generally worth more. Grand pianos have several advantages over vertical pianos in terms of sound and responsiveness and so are worth considerably more. However, a piano of smaller size may be suitable to an individual due to space limitations or other factors so its worth must be viewed in that respect. There is certainly nothing wrong with a quality baby grand or a restored older upright, both of which may produce nice sound.

3. Piano Brands – Are some brands of pianos better? To an extent, some companies have produced higher quality instruments and have built a name recognition based on that. It is difficult to “rank” piano companies based on name after 1930 because so many companies were bought and sold after the depression. A few of the undisputed companies that are considered by piano experts to have built high quality pianos are Bosendorfer, Erard, Chickering, Steinway, Knabe, Mason & Hamlin, Sohmer, and Weber. However, this is only a small number of the many companies prior to 1930 that exhibited excellent care and workmanship in their production. Piano brand should not be the primary consideration when looking for a used piano since many other factors must be considered. A well-cared for no-name piano may outperform an abused Steinway of the same year.

4. The Age of a Piano – Are older pianos better? There are certain desirable things about older pianos that cannot be found on more modern pianos. Some of the finer piano companies like Chickering aged their soundboard wood for as long as 50 years. This process led to a natural way of totally drying the wood prior to soundboard installation and thus a board less likely to shrink later on. Standards for piano production were high at about the turn of the century, and skilled craftsmen prepared most instruments, including the installation of ivory key tops and the beautiful carvings on the cases. Mass-produced pianos after World War II often did not receive the same attention to detail as the pianos produced from 1880 –1930. (For more information, refer to our page, “Why Buy a Vintage Antique Piano?”)

Chickering Baby Grand Piano Serial Number

However, this is not say that an old, unrestored, or neglected piano is worth a lot simply because it is old. A 75 year-old piano will likely need a total restoration including new hammers, felts, strings, tuning pins, and perhaps a pinblock and even a soundboard. A rebuilding job can range from $10,000 to $25,000, depending on how much work is to be done. With that being said, many old, unrestored uprights and even old grands are simply not considered by rebuilders to be worthy of purchasing or are only worth a few hundred dollars because of the high cost of rebuilding even though they may sound better, play better and look better than a new, poorly built piano. Larger grands and pianos with good name recognition and/or art cases are more desirable and may be worthy of a restoration.

5. Piano Condition – Perhaps the most important factor in determining the value of a used, unrestored piano is its condition. A piano may appear to be in excellent shape because all the keys work, but upon closer examination it often needs considerable work to ensure its reliability, stability and longevity. There are thousands of parts that make up the internal workings of a piano. While there are a number of companies that reproduce parts for older pianos, they do not have all parts for all pianos, therefore placing limitations on one’s ability to make an old piano like new. This is particularly the case in some old Victorian pianos and especially squares.

Chickering Baby Grand Piano Prices

In older pianos, it is common for bridges to come loose from the soundboard or crack, creating a poor tone. In addition, tuning pins often become loose over the years due to the age of the wooden pinblock, changes in temperature and humidity and many tunings—this makes it difficult for the piano to hold a tune. Also, soundboards may lose their crown or develop numerous cracks. Repairs like these are major rebuilding jobs and generally only worth doing on a quality grand. Also, felts become packed down or disintegrate, springs become weak, bass string windings become loose, and action parts become sluggish. All these things affect the sound and performance of a piano and require attention. These are some of the many things considered by piano technicians and rebuilders when asked, “How much is my piano worth?”

Some of the information on this page is the opinion of Shaffer Pianos. For specific information on your piano, we suggest you contact a piano technician in your area who can examine the piano for you.

Chickering Baby Grand Piano Boston