1859 Erard

[Anne Acker]

This one snuck by me.  I've been trying to spend an order of magnitude more time in the shop than on the computer lately....

The answer is:   Yes,   they could have been brass or black.   Black is just fine for such an early one.  You'll have a hard time getting a brass paint that doesn't look modern fakey.

Is this a London or Paris Erard?  You need to know, as the pitch levels were significantly different.  

Anne Acker





o: pianotech at ptg.org
>Sent: Wednesday, February 7, 2007 10:08:09 PM
>Subject: Erard Plate Color?
>
>I am restoring/rebuilding a 1859 Erard Grand. It's the standard 8' 
>model from that era. As some might now, in that period erards did 
>not have a cast plate, but a 1/4 or 1/2 plate with hitch pins and 5 
>steel bars that bolt to the pinblock on one end and the plate at the 
>other.
>
>Is Brass or Black correct on the plate and bars? It was horribly 
>repainted with a terrible brass paint when I got it. When I removed 
>the bars and plate, I saw layers of both brass color and black 
>color, can't tell what would have been original. In photographs from 
>the period for other erards, I have seen both brass and black 
>colored plates.
>
>What is the correct color, if any? I am blogging the restoration 
>here: worldofcows.blogspot.com