Secretary Desk Piano

[Gerard Gravina]

You wrote:
>
>Here's a question that some list member may be able to shed some light
on.
>
>I've got a customer with a Jensen piano, approx. 42" console, 58-note
scale (C2-A6),
>brown mahogany cabinet, which is enclosed in a writing desk.  The unit
is overall about
>80 inches tall, with a glass cabinet that sits atop the piano back.
There are two
>tiers of 3 drawers each, and the 2 piano pedals are between them.  The
fallboard flips
>and slides in such a way that the piano is completely concealed (with
the exception of
>the pedals)  I have not as of yet been able to find any numbers on the
cabinet, but the
>piano/cabinet work looks to be 1930s to 1940s.  If anyone else has
come across such an
>instrument I'd be interested to know.  Of primary interest to the
client are the age of
>the instrument, whether this was a one of a kind or a production item,
and means for
>tracing its history.  (currently, family legend says it was made for a
member of the
>Hearst family.  This very well may be true, but there is currently no
documentation to
>support it.)  Please mail me if you have any leads/ideas regarding
this piece.  I'll
>also be scanning some pictures in the next couple of days, so I'll be
able to email to
>anyone interested.
>
>Thanks,
>
>David V. Anderson, RPT
>
>
David and list,

I recently saw one of these or something similar at Piano Exchange, a
rebuilding shop in Glen Cove, NY.  The owner, Rick Smith, has quite a
collection of unique pianos, and he seems willing to share his passion
with others.  Hope this helps.

Jerry Gravina, RPT
Babylon, NY