1888 Steinway

[Mark Purney]

While in Ohio, I got to work on a very old Steinway vertical. The owners 
are ready to sell it, so if anyone is interested or knows someone who 
might be, please contact me off list. Normally, a piano in this 
condition would be ready for disposal, but I thought it might have some 
value or potential as a project piano since it's an 1888 S&S.

I was able to make it basically playable again, and did as many rough 
repairs and adjustments as I could in the time I had, but the piano 
needs a lot of work. The finish is dull black, and needs some wood 
repair & refinishing. The strings are mostly original, with the 
exception of a few that were replaced by someone who was clearly not 
qualified to do so. Tuning 120-year-old strings was a challenge, and 
only one string broke on me (which I spliced). The dampers mostly work, 
but a few need to be repaired or replaced. The hammer spacing is a mess, 
but I travelled and/or burned the worst offenders to get them to at 
least hit the intended strings. I filed the hammers, but they were in 
pretty good condition since they were only 30 years old and not used 
much since then. The action parts seem mostly original. Most of the 
bridle straps are falling apart. The springs are weak, and about 10 keys 
didn't work at all until I repinned the flanges. The original ivory has 
been replaced with plastic (not the best job).

Despite all of that, I'd love to see it brought back to life. I just 
can't be the one to do it. It's located in Canton, Ohio.