Ferdinand Karl (gee whiz, not again!)

[Oorebeek A.]

Dear List,

Yes, here I am again asking about Ferdinand Karl!
But don't worry please, this time I would like to address colleagues =
living in either GERMANY or AUSTRIA.
>From the name and more so from the interior looks, I imagine this =
grand having been built either in Austria or in Southern germany.
It reminds me strongly of the product of a student who worked for =
B=F6sendorfer or Ehrbar in Wien.
I did look up some books and found the name mentioned once briefly in =
Alfred Dolge's "Piano's and their makers". And that's all...
If I cannot find it I will not die (yet), but the thought nags at me =
that it >must< be possible to find at least some traces of this piano =
maker.
I have this customer, here in Amsterdam, who posesses the Grand. On =
the soundboard is a serial number and on the lid id the name =
"Ferdinand Karl".
The action is not a repetition action, it is more like an upright =
laying horizontally which shows it's age, it must have been built in =
the last part of the 19th century.
At the same time this might be an opportunity to find out if there =
are any Germans or Austrians on our Piano Technicians List.
If so, then please, German or Austrian colleagues, would anyone of =
you be able to help me in finding more information about the origin =
of the "Ferdinand Karl Factory" or any information that could lead to =
more knowledge about this pianomaker?
I am convinced that it should be possible to find traces of early =
builders.
In Holland we have for instance 1. a number of museums for musical =
instruments and 2. a very nice and pretty looking booklet about early =
>Dutch< Pianofortes.
It is called "Pianofortes from the low countries" and is issued by =
"the hague Municipal Museum".
It gives a nice picture of the development of the pianoforte in the =
Netherlands from the end of the eighteenth century to the beginning =
of the nineteenth century.
In this handsome little book we find a brief description the most =
important pianoforte builders in Holland.
Maybe there is such a book in Germany or Austria, and maybe someone =
just happens to know something.

"I'm patient and thus I wait".

(A. Oorebeek, Piano technician in Amsterdam, 1997)


Friendly Greetings from:

CONCERT PIANO SERVICE
Andr=E9 Oorebeek
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
email address: oorebeek@euronet.nl

=89 Where Music is no harm can be =89