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I'm playing at a concert this weekend and tried out the piano the other night. It's an old Blüthner, 6ft or a little more, medium coloured wood (nice veneer on the front!), has been restored to some extent (ie it's all bright and shiny inside - new strings at the least), blue felt. The only number i could find was 80262. I'd just be interested to know how old it is. It plays very nicely - resonant bass, sweet tone. (Pity it hadn't been freshly tuned )
I've just been searching through other old Blüthner posts and I'm guessing about 1900. Am I close? Thanks to anyone who can help.

If that's the serial number, it was made in 1909.

I cannot find the age in the Blue Book of Pianos, so I made a phonecall to Helga Kasimoff of Blüthner Pianos on Larchmont in LA. She did not have a list available, but dated the piano to around 1910.

The Bluthner "Age Table" gives the date as 1910.

I would be very interested to know if the plate is the normal Bluthner plate for that period (5 round holes), or whether it is the very elaborate "Jubilee-style" plate (like Benecs's piano)? Also, whether it has Aliquot strings (4th non-struck strung for each note in the treble)?

It would be wonderful if you could possibly manage to take a photo or two, and post them!

Best of luck for the concert.

Sorry - double post.

Thanks very much for the quick replies! I don't remember about the plate, but it definitely has the Aliquot strings. I'll try and take a few photos on Sunday and post them.

For David-G and anyone else who was interested, here are pics of the aforementioned Blüthner! (hope this works...)

That looks like a beautiful piano. Sorry, I can't help you with info on it.

Btw, how was the concert?

that's a gorgeous music desk

I was mainly curious about the age, and that's been answered (1910) . But thanks, and the concert went well .

That is a beautiful piano! But I wonder about the serial number. It looks like a piano built before 1900. The end of the case is rounded on both sides of my Blüthner, which was built 1897. On this piano the case isn't rounded. I thought the rounded end would be typical for more modern pianos, but I might be wrong.

Anyway, it is truly beautiful! Have a great concert!

The number was stamped on the soundboard. I couldn't find any other numbers anywhere else, but I didn't have a great deal of time, having to do other things (like actually play it ).
I may get another chance to play it in the future - hope so! (also hope they get it tuned!) I loved the sound.
I found the photos of your Blüthner - same music desk!

These are wonderful pianos. My piano has the same legs too. The number on the soundboard should be the serial number, the best reference to find out the age of the piano, and it seems like it was built 1910. But I still wonder about the design? Does anyone know more, how Blüthners case design improved from 1880 to 1920?

Beautiful Piano.

Currawong, many thanks for the photos, and it was good to hear that the concert went well. It is indeed a very beautiful piano! Interestingly, it has the same music desk, lyre and legs as my Bluthner (although mine is black).

Benecs, I think you are correct. A number of aspects of this piano all point to a rather earlier date; in particular, the sharp corners at the rear, the arrangement of the frame and strings, and the lyre.

The lyre and the sharp corners at the rear both indicate a serial number not much larger than 30000. The piano seems to be overstrung, but does not have the usual V-type arrangement of the frame struts. These features perhaps indicate a number around 25000 to 30000.

Bluthner number 31426 is rather similar, as this picture shows. It has the same beautiful veneer, the same style of fallboard inscription, and the same lyre. This would tend to confirm that we are looking for a serial number somewhere around 30000. Incidentally no. 31426 is perhaps a shorter piano (it is 6ft 6ins).



The serial number 80262 is therefore rather a puzzle. Currawong, are you quite sure that this number is correct? Could it perhaps have been 30262 (if the 3 was not clearly stamped, perhaps it could be mistaken for an 8)? A number in the region of 30000 would give a date of about 1889.

Is there any chance that you might be able to check on the number? I have not seen a Bluthner quite like this before, and it would be very interesting to be able to pin down its age with some certainty.

I was pretty sure at the time - the 6 looked a bit like an 8 actually, but I didn't doubt the 3. However, the light wasn't the best. I'll check the number the next chance I get. It might be a little while before I'm able to get access to it again, but I'm certainly interested too, so I'll do my best. 31426 is indeed similar, and also beautiful. Thanks for your help - I'll keep you posted.

David, maybe we are on the right way to get vintage Blüthner experts :-)

Am I misinterpreting the picture? Why is that felt wound around the speaking portion of the strings?!

That is the backscale of the aliquot strings, behind the speaking length. Whoever rebuilt it was a bit overzealous damping that area. It is nice to see the blue felt.

I'm bumping this as I had another chance to look at the piano this evening. With somewhat better light (and maybe better glasses!) I think the serial number is 20242. I'm not sure how I could have been so far out when I looked previously, but this would probably put it back into the 1880s would it not?

Curra, somewhere between 1880 and 1885.