Antique Eavestaff Burlwood Baby Grand Piano
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:45537779 | Type: Baby Grand Piano |
| MPN: Does Not Apply | Brand: Eavestaff |
| Number of Pedals: 2 | UPC: Does not apply |
Antique eavestaff Burlwood Baby Grand Piano. Condition is "Used".
EAVESTAFF COMPANY HISTORY: The Eavestaff Company, Ltd. was established in London in 1823 as a dealer in sheet music and related accessories. The firm was purchased by the Brasted Brothers in 1925, at which time they began manufacturing pianos under the Eavestaff brand name. Eavestaff pianos were not immediately successful, but the firm soon gained fame and notoriety from the prestige of their newly designed instrument...s built to suit the “modern” era. These new instruments included the “Eavestaff Grand”, the “Minipiano”, the “Pianette” and the “Royal”. The Eavestaff Company, Ltd. continued building pianos for several decades, ultimately ceasing manufacturing in about 1983. The Eavestaff name was subsequently purchased by foreign investors in the 1990s and instruments bearing the Eavestaff brand label are now being built as Chinese import pianos.
AGE: You showed two sets of numbers in your photos. The first number was 2137, the second number 26759. All serial numbers for Eavestaff listed in our archives are 6-digit numbers; however, the 26759 does appear to be where a serial number would be expected to be located. Since our archives were assembled long before computer technology, we often find errors and inconsistencies in their information. Your piano appears to be circa about 1930 - 1940 based on design and construction.
GENERAL INFORMATION: Your piano appears to be made of beautiful exotic-grain book matched walnut wood and is of the carved “Queen-Anne” curved leg style. These carved style pianos were more expensive than traditional pianos and were built in smaller numbers. They are a bit rare today. The piano would be quite beautiful after professional restoration.
The piano appears to be in original, unrestored condition with the old worn strings and felt still present. The average piano has about a 40 – 50 year lifespan before the felts, leather and strings begin to deteriorate and need restoration. The fact your piano is in such good condition for its age is a real testament to the quality that went into building it! The piano would be quite beautiful if professionally restored.
If you look at the soundboard in your piano, you will see that the grain in the wood is very close together. When that tree was growing 150+ years ago, America's forests were very dense and trees had to struggle to grow. As a result, the wood rings are very close together due to slower growth. This wood with tight rings is more resonate and has much better tone quality than new pianos. Unfortunately, most of this quality wood is gone forever. New pianos with green wood do not have the same sound because they are not as deep and resonate in tone quality. As these pianos are destroyed, this wonderful wood is lost forever. Luckily, people are beginning to realize the quality of these vintage instruments and they are investing in their restoration and preservation for future generations to enjoy.
Here are some things to consider about your piano: Any piano this old will require total restoration. Pianos are made of materials that tend to deteriorate over time. Felt, leather and rubber tends to simply break down and rot over the years, making it necessary for these materials to be replaced. When a piano is in tune, there is approximately 17 tons of tension on the strings, and old, worn out strings just won't hold it. Most piano tuners don't like to tune vintage pianos because the strings tend to break under tension. Decades of rust, corrosion and deterioration simply break these strings down over time. Many people approach us with the assumption that their piano just needs a good "tune up" to be in perfect playing condition...that simply isn't the case! These people are amazed to learn that restoration is almost always necessary on these vintage instruments.
VALUE: Sadly, we see these wonderful instruments sell for only a fraction of their actual value prior to restoration. We sometimes see them sell for as little as a couple thousand dollars on eBay and in antique malls in original, unrestored condition: even if they appear to be in very good original condition. Restored, however, they are potentially quite valuable. We routinely sell these restored antique grand pianos for $25, 000 - $35, 000 USD in our shop after restoration. This is not an inflated figure, but an actual figure that these pianos really are selling for after restoration.
Restoration is not cheap, but it is necessary to make any instrument worth top dollar. If your instrument was an antique automobile sitting on blocks, full of rust and ruining due to neglect, you wouldn't expect it to fetch a very high price. If you invested in having the automobile restored to make it a show car, you could then expect it to sell for a tidy sum - likely at a nice profit after your investment. Pianos and organs are the same way. Restored instruments sell for high dollars - original, unrestored instruments simply do not.
WHAT DOES RESTORED REALLY MEAN? The term "restored" refers to professional internal and professional external restoration and rebuilding, not just cabinet refinishing and internal cleaning, etc. Many people think that because grandma refinished their piano or organ in the garage 10 years ago that the instrument is "restored" and worth a fortune - not true. Like the antique automobile, piano/organ restoration includes rebuilding the internal mechanisms as well as the cosmetics.
Over the past decade, we have seen the value of antique pianos and organs nearly double across the board. Much of the credit goes to education - folks are now able to go to the internet and learn about what they have, often encouraged to invest and preserve their instruments.
RESTORING VERSUS BUYING NEW: A century ago there were literally hundreds of respected piano manufacturers throughout North America. Over the past few decades, the American market has become flooded with cheap, low quality Asian import pianos which are made of plastic, particle board and green unseasoned wood. In fact, rights to nearly all of the old well-known and respected American brand names have been acquired by Asian firms and are now being built overseas. Brand-name recognition has long been a primary marketing tool with Asian import pianos despite the fact there is no real connection between the recognized brand name and the modern-day instrument that brand name is applied to.
This influx of cheap import pianos has virtually destroyed the American piano industry. Besides a few obscure and expensive “boutique” makers, there are only two American piano manufacturers left in the industry today. These two firms are Mason & Hamlin of Boston and Steinway & Sons of New York (note that Steinway has long been in negotiations with a Chinese buyer and will likely be sold to a Chinese firm). A cheaply-built Asian import baby grand piano from Indonesiastarts at about $12, 000 - $15, 000 new. For example, see this listing for a typical new Knabe brand baby grand piano https://pianopricepoint.com/knabe-wg48-grand-piano/. While Knabe was once a respected top-quality brand name, these new Indonesian import pianos hold up poorly in the North American climate and are riddled with problems long-term.
Your piano was built during the “Golden Age” of piano manufacturing in America. The smallest and least expensive American-made baby grand piano you can buy today (Mason & Hamlin) sells new for $68, 890 (see https://pianopricepoint.com/mason-hamlin-a-grand-piano/) The smallest and least expensive Steinway baby grand piano sells new for $69, 700 (see https://pianopricepoint.com/steinway-s-grand-piano/)
This is info I received:RESTORATION INFORMATION & PRICING: We offer three different pricing options for Grand and Baby Grand piano restoration. These different grades of restoration refer to the scope of the restoration, not the kind of instrument being restored. Note that Grade 3 restorations are generally reserved for pianos which have suffered excessive water, fire or insect damage or excessive neglect and abuse. You can view the details about these different restoration levels at this link: http://antiquepianoshop.com/restoration-packages/baby-grand-grand-restoration-packages/ Your piano would cost $16, 500 for a Grade 1 restoration (valuing it in the $25, 000 range) and $19, 000 for a Grade 2 restoration (valuing it closer to the $35, 000 range). These restoration prices are about a third the cost of buying a new American-made baby grand piano.
EAVESTAFF COMPANY HISTORY: The Eavestaff Company, Ltd. was established in London in 1823 as a dealer in sheet music and related accessories. The firm was purchased by the Brasted Brothers in 1925, at which time they began manufacturing pianos under the Eavestaff brand name. Eavestaff pianos were not immediately successful, but the firm soon gained fame and notoriety from the prestige of their newly designed instrument...s built to suit the “modern” era. These new instruments included the “Eavestaff Grand”, the “Minipiano”, the “Pianette” and the “Royal”. The Eavestaff Company, Ltd. continued building pianos for several decades, ultimately ceasing manufacturing in about 1983. The Eavestaff name was subsequently purchased by foreign investors in the 1990s and instruments bearing the Eavestaff brand label are now being built as Chinese import pianos.
AGE: You showed two sets of numbers in your photos. The first number was 2137, the second number 26759. All serial numbers for Eavestaff listed in our archives are 6-digit numbers; however, the 26759 does appear to be where a serial number would be expected to be located. Since our archives were assembled long before computer technology, we often find errors and inconsistencies in their information. Your piano appears to be circa about 1930 - 1940 based on design and construction.
GENERAL INFORMATION: Your piano appears to be made of beautiful exotic-grain book matched walnut wood and is of the carved “Queen-Anne” curved leg style. These carved style pianos were more expensive than traditional pianos and were built in smaller numbers. They are a bit rare today. The piano would be quite beautiful after professional restoration.
The piano appears to be in original, unrestored condition with the old worn strings and felt still present. The average piano has about a 40 – 50 year lifespan before the felts, leather and strings begin to deteriorate and need restoration. The fact your piano is in such good condition for its age is a real testament to the quality that went into building it! The piano would be quite beautiful if professionally restored.
If you look at the soundboard in your piano, you will see that the grain in the wood is very close together. When that tree was growing 150+ years ago, America's forests were very dense and trees had to struggle to grow. As a result, the wood rings are very close together due to slower growth. This wood with tight rings is more resonate and has much better tone quality than new pianos. Unfortunately, most of this quality wood is gone forever. New pianos with green wood do not have the same sound because they are not as deep and resonate in tone quality. As these pianos are destroyed, this wonderful wood is lost forever. Luckily, people are beginning to realize the quality of these vintage instruments and they are investing in their restoration and preservation for future generations to enjoy.
Here are some things to consider about your piano: Any piano this old will require total restoration. Pianos are made of materials that tend to deteriorate over time. Felt, leather and rubber tends to simply break down and rot over the years, making it necessary for these materials to be replaced. When a piano is in tune, there is approximately 17 tons of tension on the strings, and old, worn out strings just won't hold it. Most piano tuners don't like to tune vintage pianos because the strings tend to break under tension. Decades of rust, corrosion and deterioration simply break these strings down over time. Many people approach us with the assumption that their piano just needs a good "tune up" to be in perfect playing condition...that simply isn't the case! These people are amazed to learn that restoration is almost always necessary on these vintage instruments.
VALUE: Sadly, we see these wonderful instruments sell for only a fraction of their actual value prior to restoration. We sometimes see them sell for as little as a couple thousand dollars on eBay and in antique malls in original, unrestored condition: even if they appear to be in very good original condition. Restored, however, they are potentially quite valuable. We routinely sell these restored antique grand pianos for $25, 000 - $35, 000 USD in our shop after restoration. This is not an inflated figure, but an actual figure that these pianos really are selling for after restoration.
Restoration is not cheap, but it is necessary to make any instrument worth top dollar. If your instrument was an antique automobile sitting on blocks, full of rust and ruining due to neglect, you wouldn't expect it to fetch a very high price. If you invested in having the automobile restored to make it a show car, you could then expect it to sell for a tidy sum - likely at a nice profit after your investment. Pianos and organs are the same way. Restored instruments sell for high dollars - original, unrestored instruments simply do not.
WHAT DOES RESTORED REALLY MEAN? The term "restored" refers to professional internal and professional external restoration and rebuilding, not just cabinet refinishing and internal cleaning, etc. Many people think that because grandma refinished their piano or organ in the garage 10 years ago that the instrument is "restored" and worth a fortune - not true. Like the antique automobile, piano/organ restoration includes rebuilding the internal mechanisms as well as the cosmetics.
Over the past decade, we have seen the value of antique pianos and organs nearly double across the board. Much of the credit goes to education - folks are now able to go to the internet and learn about what they have, often encouraged to invest and preserve their instruments.
RESTORING VERSUS BUYING NEW: A century ago there were literally hundreds of respected piano manufacturers throughout North America. Over the past few decades, the American market has become flooded with cheap, low quality Asian import pianos which are made of plastic, particle board and green unseasoned wood. In fact, rights to nearly all of the old well-known and respected American brand names have been acquired by Asian firms and are now being built overseas. Brand-name recognition has long been a primary marketing tool with Asian import pianos despite the fact there is no real connection between the recognized brand name and the modern-day instrument that brand name is applied to.
This influx of cheap import pianos has virtually destroyed the American piano industry. Besides a few obscure and expensive “boutique” makers, there are only two American piano manufacturers left in the industry today. These two firms are Mason & Hamlin of Boston and Steinway & Sons of New York (note that Steinway has long been in negotiations with a Chinese buyer and will likely be sold to a Chinese firm). A cheaply-built Asian import baby grand piano from Indonesiastarts at about $12, 000 - $15, 000 new. For example, see this listing for a typical new Knabe brand baby grand piano https://pianopricepoint.com/knabe-wg48-grand-piano/. While Knabe was once a respected top-quality brand name, these new Indonesian import pianos hold up poorly in the North American climate and are riddled with problems long-term.
Your piano was built during the “Golden Age” of piano manufacturing in America. The smallest and least expensive American-made baby grand piano you can buy today (Mason & Hamlin) sells new for $68, 890 (see https://pianopricepoint.com/mason-hamlin-a-grand-piano/) The smallest and least expensive Steinway baby grand piano sells new for $69, 700 (see https://pianopricepoint.com/steinway-s-grand-piano/)
This is info I received:RESTORATION INFORMATION & PRICING: We offer three different pricing options for Grand and Baby Grand piano restoration. These different grades of restoration refer to the scope of the restoration, not the kind of instrument being restored. Note that Grade 3 restorations are generally reserved for pianos which have suffered excessive water, fire or insect damage or excessive neglect and abuse. You can view the details about these different restoration levels at this link: http://antiquepianoshop.com/restoration-packages/baby-grand-grand-restoration-packages/ Your piano would cost $16, 500 for a Grade 1 restoration (valuing it in the $25, 000 range) and $19, 000 for a Grade 2 restoration (valuing it closer to the $35, 000 range). These restoration prices are about a third the cost of buying a new American-made baby grand piano.
