One of the primary ways you can begin to investigate the value of your piano is by locating the serial number. The serial number is considered your piano’s birth certificate, and it is the way the original manufacturer assigned it a unique.
- Chickering Square Grand Piano Value
- Chickering Piano Blue Book
- Chickering & Sons Piano Serial Numbers
- Chickering Sons Piano Serial Numbers
However, locating it can be tricky. We provide our customers with the following real-life diagrams to quickly help them find the serial number on their grand or upright piano.
Series 2: Publications Chickering & Sons Piano Company Collection NMAH.AC.0264 Page 7 of 19 The Jonas Chickering Centennial Celebration, Printed in the Year 1924, by Cheltenham for Chickering and Sons of Boston, Massachusetts, undated Box 1, Folder 3 'The Chickering Halo', possible editorial clipped from Piano Trade Magazine, 1923 February. Chickering Brothers (not to be confused with Chickering & Sons) was established in Chicago in 1892 by Clifford Chickering, a distant relative of the famous Chickering & Sons of Boston.Chickering Brothers built exceptional instruments, including the Acoustigrande and the Capacoustic Grand pianos. These instruments were scientifically designed to get the maximum tone and volume for size, often. Chickering & Sons was an American piano manufacturer located in Boston, Massachusetts.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,.
Grand serial numbers like on the Steinway pictured above may be found in many different places. The various places on the diagram point to some possible locations.
Typically, a serial number has 5 to 7 digits, but in some cases, it may have fewer or more and may also include a letter. This is a view of the grand with the lid open and the music desk removed. It may be necessary to clean dust off the harp or soundboard before the serial number can be seen.
Upright or vertical piano serial numbers can usually be found by lifting the lid and looking inside on the gold harp or plate. It is usually not necessary to remove the upper front panel to find the serial number (as in this picture).
By locating the serial number, you can begin your research to know the value of the piano. The first thing the serial number tells you is the age of the piano. Paired with the who made the piano, the age is a key piece of information, and many piano experts can begin to assign a value quickly after assessing the condition and a few other criteria.
Sometimes, however, a serial number can be nearly impossible to find, even to professionals who know where to look and have identified thousands of serial numbers in their years of expertise. If you are running into this problem, feel free to give us a call, and we’ll be happy to work with you to locate your serial number.
Contact us today!
Original image sources:
Grand piano: https://www.amromusic.com/
Upright piano: http://www.steinhovenpianos.com/
Chickering & Sons Historical Overview
One of the earliest American piano manufacturers, Chickering & Sons was founded by Jonas Chickering and partner James Stewart in Boston in 1823. [1] The early history of the company was characterized by multiple business partner and company name changes. partner and company name changes.
The below timeline is important as it influences the value of pianos today. [2]
1823 - “Stewart & Chickering” was founded by Jonas Chickering with partner James Stewart.
1827 - Partnership between Chickering and Stewart dissolved.
1830 - Chickering partnered with John Mackay, a sea captain who sourced materials from South America for the pianos.
1839 - “Chickering & Mackays” produced pianos under new name with John Mackay’s son William Mackay joining the partnership.
1841 - Chickering and the Mackay family partnership dissolved. Pianos manufacturing during this short window of time as “Chickering & Mackays” are very rare and valuable today. [3]
1852 - “Chickering & Sons” became the new company name when Chickering’s sons George, Frank and Thomas joined as partners.
1853 - Jonas Chickering died and sons continued business.
1908 - “Chickering & Sons” sold to America Piano Company and continued producing Chickering pianos.
1932 - America Piano Company and Aeolian Piano Company merged and continued producing Chickering pianos.
1985 - The Aeolian-American Piano Corporation went out of business, ending the Chickering piano brand production.
Chickering & Sons Piano Technology
As one of the most popular piano brands of the 19th century, Chickering & Sons was well known for the quality of their instruments and several key advancements to grand piano technology. Most notably, Jonas Chickering added a single, cast iron plate to the piano, which is now standard on all pianos today. [4] This iron frame helped support higher string tensions for grand pianos. [5]
Additionally, Chickering was credited with inventing a new string deflection technique that stacked strings over one another for space saving in square pianos. For these advancements, Chickering & Sons was given many awards, including the Imperial Cross of the Legion of Honor in 1867, by Emperor Napoleon III for their contribution to music. [6]
Chickering pianos were the preferred concert piano of its time until Steinway’s rise to prominence in the early 1900s. [7] As a means to promote their craftsmanship and piano quality, Chickering owned and operated a concert hall both in Boston and in New York city. In fact, Abraham Lincoln even brought several Chickering pianos into the White House to be played by the first family.
Restoring a Chickering Piano
The early history of the Chickering & Sons piano brand in America adds to the value of many of their pianos today. As one of the first piano manufacturers in America in the 1800s, Chickering & Sons produced pianos which now serve as unique, early-American musical artifacts.
Depending on the year of production and condition, unrestored Chickering pianos can range in value between $500-$4,000. Particularly those pianos which can be dated back to when the company started as Stewart & Chickering and then Chickering & Mackays, the restored piano value can be in the mid $30,000.
As with any piano and brand, it is critical to consider historical accuracy during restoration. At Lindeblad, our team has 19th century piano expertise. We understand the characteristics of the original production period and ensure the restoration project is done with precision and attention to detail.
Do you have a Chickering & Sons piano?
Talk with one of our team members today about its value!
References:
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonas_Chickering, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chickering_%26_Sons
Chickering Square Grand Piano Value
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4yfS1bEHz8
[3] http://antiquepianoshop.com/online-museum/chickering-sons/
Chickering Piano Blue Book
[4] https://www.chuppspianos.com/services/grand-piano-parts/plate/
[5] https://archive.org/details/grandsquareuprig00chic
Chickering & Sons Piano Serial Numbers
[6] http://www.total-piano-care.com/chickering-and-sons.html
Chickering Sons Piano Serial Numbers
[7] http://www.sweeneypiano.com/interstate/manufacturers/chickering%20_pianos.cfm