Mason & Risch Serial Numbers

Horace Greeley hgreeley@leland.Stanford.EDU
Thu, 09 Jan 1997 14:18:50 -0800


Aaron,

Were the Mason & Risch pianos not actually Mason & Hamlin (mostly)?  I seem
to remember being told that years ago.  Certainly most of the M&R pianos I
've every seen were M&H with the plate signatures ground to protect the
innocent.

Best.

Horace


At 11:30 PM 1/8/97 -0500, you wrote:
>Rob Kiddell wrote,
>>	I've rebuilt several Mason & Risch pianos, and the safest way to
>>find the date of manufacture is the stamp on the action. Look
>>closely, does it have a month and day next to the 1910?  That should
>>be your year.
>Yes, there was a month and day on the action, I just couldn't remember what
>they were.  I'm more curious as to why they would have displayed so
>prominently a number that was not the serial number.
>
>>	Mason & Risch serial numbers are notoriously incorrect in the Pierce
>>Atlas, I find Canadian sources are better, such as the Canadian Piano
>>Atlas, formerly from D.M. Best, now from Pianophile.
>Both Pierce and Pianophile gave me 1912, according to the second number I
>found.  If the action were made in 1910 is it possible that the piano didn't
>leave the factory until 1912, especially considering that it's a player?
>
>>	Also, is this a Mason & Risch stencil piano, such as Harmonic,
>>Haddon Hall, etc?
>No.  It's the genuine article.  Agraffes throughout the tenor and treble.
>They made a lovely piano in their day, didn't they?
>
>Regards,
>
>Aaron Bousel
>Ormstown, QC  Canada
>abousel@rocler.qc.ca
>
>
>
Horace Greeley

Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes.

Stanford University
email: hgreeley@leland.stanford.edu
voice mail: 415.725.9062
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