Info on 1890 Ivers and Ponds piano

[Cy Shuster]

Dear Mary Beth,

I'm just learning piano technology; I've been on this mailing list for six months or so.  The best I can do is point you to other resources.  

Talk to different piano tuners and technicians in your area, and see if any of them are familiar with this brand.  The Piano Technician's Guild home page has many resources which can help you (http://www.ptg.org): it will help you locate Registered Piano Technicians (RPT) in your area (requires passing a test on piano repairs and fine adjustments, in addition to tuning).  Also, the archives of this Pianotech mailing list are available, and can be searched.  You might also look at sites that sell pianos, such as www.pianoworld.com, www.pianomart.com, www.bluebookofpianos.com  and so on.  In particular, see how fatal flaws can be hidden inside a piano which is beautiful on the outside: http://www.chicagopianos.com/wantedposter.htm.

The Pierce Piano Atlas is the book that your piano mover probably used to look up the serial number.  Older editions of this book may have more info about this piano (and older technicians probably have those books!  ;-).  Larry Fine's "The Piano Book" is an excellent overview, and tells you how to evaluate a used piano.

My general sense from reading this list is that Ivers and Ponds was a good quality brand, however there were thousands of upright pianos made around the turn of the century which are still available all around the country, surprisingly enough.  Most had a so-called "birdcage" action, which was not a good design.  Uprights in general have very little resale value, while grand pianos made before 1920 or so have a high value.  Uprights are generally not worth rebuilding (and most need new strings and hammers after 50 years), while grands are.

Open the top lid.  Are there any missing strings, or broken ones (may have been retied together, believe it or not)?  Do any of them look much newer than the rest, so have possibly been replaced?  Are any hammers missing?  Are they grossly misaligned to the strings?  Do some notes not play, or do the keys stick up or down?  Has it not been tuned for a long time?  Does it go out of tune in less than a month?  (Note: a piano this old might have to be tuned to A=435, not A=440; ask your tuner).  Do the pedals not work?  Are the keytops made of plastic?  Or are they ivory which is yellow, stained, or chipped (ivory has a grain in it)?  Was the piano kept in conditions of high humidity, high heat, or the worst: fluctuations between these two extremes?  "Yes" answers to any of these questions *might* mean that your piano is not worth very much, possibly from $0 to $500.  Most likely repairs would run $1000 to $2000 and up, and afterwards the piano would still be worth less than the cost of repairs.

Another good resource is the newsgroup "rec.music.makers.piano".  People frequently post questions like yours there.  Old postings can be searched on http://groups.google.com.

My sense is that you're wondering if this is a valuable antique because of its age, and I'm afraid the answer is probably not.  It still might be made playable, and some had beautiful inlays, with candle holders on each side and so on.  As far as seating, I think that round piano stools were common in that era, adjustable in height by spinning the seat.  I have one with claw foot legs grasping glass balls.

Again, I only have 50% confidence in my answers; please do more research!

--Cy--



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mary Beth Fielder" <mbfielder@cinema.usc.edu>
To: "Mary Beth Fielder" <mbfielder@cinema.usc.edu>
Sent: May 16, 2002 9:15 PM
Subject: Info on 1890 Ivers and Ponds piano


> Hi!
> 
> I got your name off the pianotech digest chat group.  My mother recently
> gave me the 1890 Ivers and Ponds carved upright piano (it's a beauty) which
> we had in our basement growing up.  She bought it from an old lady in our
> Pennsylvania neighborhood in the 1970's for $75.  My problem is it doesn't
> have a piano stool or bench.  I wanted to know what would be authentic to
> the period and I was wondering if you might know or if you might know
> someone who would.
> 
>   Also, is there some kind of book that has photos of old Ivers and Ponds
> pianos so I could get a sense of the piano's history and value.  When we
> moved the piano into our house, we found the serial number inside and the
> piano mover looked it up.  It was from the first five years they
> manufactured pianos - 1890-1895.
> 
> Thanks for reading this and helping me if possible.
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> Mary Beth Fielder
> Los Angeles.
> 
>