Decal for 1866 Steinway (and Style question!)

[Bdshull@AOL.COM]

Hi, Greg:

Very interesting!  I am currently rebuilding a Style 2 1878 grand, 7'3".  It 
is my impression that the model lengths varied on the pre-continuous rim 
pianos, the style designations are not precisely tied to exact lengths, and 
the correspondence to A-D models is very rough.  

One of the things I am learning about these early Steinways is that at least 
some were scaled to a very high pitch, possibly as high as A-457.  My Style 2 
85 note scale is wacko at A-440 in PScale.  Note 85 is 1 7/8".  Dale Irwin 
recently rebuilt one of these (w/new board) and it sounded great tuned in the 
stratosphere after the initial high pitch raises, but when it settled into 
A-440 it wasn't nearly so good.  The choice in these pianos (other than 
preservation) is restoration or redesign - do you want to copy everything and 
tune it at a historically high pitch so it sounds good, or do you want the 
piano to sound good at a useful pitch, and therefore rescale the piano, 
moving the bridge, etc.?

Sorry I can't help with the decal - mine was gone before I got the piano.

Would still love any pictures you might be able to send.

Bill Shull, RPT
University of Redlands, La Sierra University   

In a message dated 10/28/00 10:46:26 AM Pacific Daylight Time, 
greg@planetbeagle.com writes:

<< Hi all,
 
 I have recently acquired an 8'4" Steinway grand from 1865 or 1866 (serial 
number in the 11,000's) and I'm having it rebuilt.  The current soundboard 
has no trace of any decal, so I'm trying to figure out what kind of decal 
would be appropriate.
 
 The Steinway public relations person that I corresponded with told me that 
all Steinways had decals, even in 1865, and sent me over to Decals Unlimited. 
 DU pointed me to their model 4106 decal, telling me it's the oldest design 
they have.
 
 Unfortunately that decal includes a medal from the 1876 Centennial 
Exposition, which obviously hadn't happened yet in 1865. ;-)
 
 So I wondered if anyone out there either has, or has seen, an original 
Steinway soundboard decal from the 1860's.  I probably can't get a modern 
copy of it, but my curiosity is so great that I'd love to just see one for 
myself.  Maybe there's one still attached to one of the old square grands out 
there?  (They seem in general to be less often rebuilt.)
 
 Worse for my curiosity is what Steinway told me about my serial number.  
According to their records, my piano is a rosewood finish Style 2 with 85 
keys.  My piano is indeed in rosewood, but it has 88 keys.  Also, at 8'5", 
it's clearly Steinway's largest model from that era, which I had thought they 
called a Style 4 grand.
 
 Can anyone shed any light on this Style mystery?  I have read that the old 
Style numbers, 1-4, corresponded more or less with the later models A-D.  Is 
this correct?  Maybe Steinway's records of my serial number are just 
completely wrong?  (What a bummer that would be; I was looking forward to 
researching the old owners.)
 
 Any clues to the above would be greatly appreciated by this newbie antique 
Steinway lover!
 
 Best Regards,
 Greg Anderson
 San Jose, California
 
 ps: I have digital pictures of the piano I could send to anyone interested.
  >>