Later, my rebuilder acquaintance went over to do some work at this dealer’s and decided to conduct a little experiment. But we couldn’t figure out how the name had been cast in the plate.
He told me he also did not think they were really Baldwins. In lately, usually with the Howard or Monarch label. Recently started buying from a new wholesaler who also rebuilt and refinished pianos, and had been getting quite a few Baldwins
He gave me a knowing look, and said, yes, he had seen it too, and he had his doubts, also. I happened to mention to him, in passing, that there was a very strange looking Baldwin at this dealer’s, and I didn’t quite know what to make of it. Later that day I happened to drop by a piano rebuilding shop nearby, to visit a rebuilder who often did work for us. Still, I wasn’t completely convinced, especially after checking the action in this piano and discovering that it wasn’t like any BaldwinĪction I had ever seen. But in this case, the name definitely seemed cast into the plate, in raised letters.
#Baldwin piano serial number verification
While fallboard decals for any make of piano can be readily obtained, without any sort of verification that you indeed have that brand of piano in your possession, changing the name on the plate is much more difficult. Usually if you don’t trust the name on the fallboard, and if the piano has just been refinished by someone you don’t know, it’s standard practice to look and see if the maker’s name is cast into the plate, because that’s quite a bit harder to counterfeit. In fact, it looked a lot like another brand that didn’t sell as well or as fast as the Baldwins
The problem was, this piano didn’t look like any of the Baldwin Monarchs or Howards I had ever seen. The Baldwin Co., over the years, has made a number of different brands of pianos, all associated with the prestigious “House of Baldwin.” Now around here, anything that’s associated withīaldwin can usually sell faster and for more than some other, lesser known piano names, and so this piano should have been quite appealing to a potential customer. The particular grand I was appraising had been refinished, and restrung, and had one of the Baldwin Piano Company’s names on it (Monarch or Howard, I think). Just recently I was appraising a piano at a certain local dealer’s who sold used pianos. Given those conditions, it’s not surprising that a lot of people are being taken advantage of. Part of the problem is that the used piano business is not really well regulated (if at all!) and there is a lot of ignorance out there on the part of the consumer as to what to expect. It is amazing what some people in the used piano business today try to get away with. If you happen to encounter a piano, with a manufacturers name on it that looks completely different than what you’re used to seeing from that manufacturer, it's indeed possible that it really wasn’t made by them. certain style characteristics, or identifying attributes. Usually, all pianos made by a certain firm have a certain family resemblance, i.e. For instance, it may have the name of a certain maker printed on the fallboard above the keys, or even engraved inside on the plate (harp), but not look like anything we’ve ever seen coming from that piano company. Knock-Off Brands: When a piano is not what it seems by Kendall Ross Bean Watching Out for Deception in the Used Piano MarketĮvery now and then we will come across a piano that seems a bit strange.
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