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Am I a fool to give away this piano?

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Must move yourself...you will need at least two people.
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Haha. Yeah, right, have you ever tried to move a piano (even an upright) down stairs? Gonna take more than two people. Those things weigh a ton.
 
ps: your keys are wooden, the key covers are not. The age makes it likely that the key covers are ivory, although plastic or synthetic is possibly, especially if they've been replaced. Ivory keys will show grain to some extent, yet the better the quality ivory, the less grain evident.
 
My parents had a player piano like that when I was young. It had come from a playschool and had like 6 layers of paint and stickers on it. All the player stuff was missing but it played fine manually. She stripped the paint and it had PERFECT beautiful wood underneath it. It was made in 1879 and had ivory on the key surface. Price? No clue but it was actually a buyer requirement that the piano stay when we sold him the house or no sale. It was probably worth a bunch.
 
Here is my assesment.
You have a piano that is possably 100+ years old. Google search on your make of piano shows up nothing at all that I can find which leads me to think you have maybe a 1 in a million piano made by a company that wasnt famous or went out of busness. If that be the case you may have the only one left know to exsist which would make it a PRICELESS piano in ANY condition.

I wouldnt sell it but try to learn or seach more on it before going and giving it away IMO.
Dont base what you find on ebay. You need to find out more about it and the company that made it to tell if it is worth anything at all. Maybe all the people who have answered you ad know more then you???
 
It's not priceless. Nowhere near. I've got an extremely expensive antique birdcage. The OP's piano isn't priceless, but it should be worth something. Don't give it away unless you absolutely need to get rid of it and there's nobody willing to buy it.
 
Originally posted by: Antisocial Virge
My parents had a player piano like that when I was young. It had come from a playschool and had like 6 layers of paint and stickers on it. All the player stuff was missing but it played fine manually. She stripped the paint and it had PERFECT beautiful wood underneath it. It was made in 1879 and had ivory on the key surface. Price? No clue but it was actually a buyer requirement that the piano stay when we sold him the house or no sale. It was probably worth a bunch.
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How much did the house sell for? He probably made back his 10% down payment on that.
 
Originally posted by: Nik
It's not priceless. Nowhere near. I've got an extremely expensive antique birdcage. The OP's piano isn't priceless, but it should be worth something. Don't give it away unless you absolutely need to get rid of it and there's nobody willing to buy it.
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I'm just curious... are you familiar with Erhard player pianos? How do you know what the value would be (whether its $100 or priceless), and how does the fact that you have an expensive antique bird cage come into the equation? Is the birdcage an Erhard? Or does owning an antique birdcage qualify you as an antique expert somehow?
 
Originally posted by: Pepsi90919
are you sure it's not "Erard"?
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French Piano Builders
In France we find a similar decisive role being played by the Alsatian musical-instrument maker Sebastian Erhard. Upon emigrating from Strasbourg to Paris in 1768, he Gallicized his name to Sébastian Érard.

Erard and Erhard are the same, as Erhard name on his piano's would pre-date his emigration from Strasbourg to Paris (see, Im an expert now ;P)
 
Originally posted by: Nik
It's not priceless. Nowhere near. I've got an extremely expensive antique birdcage. The OP's piano isn't priceless, but it should be worth something. Don't give it away unless you absolutely need to get rid of it and there's nobody willing to buy it.
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If he has the ONLY one in exsistance it could be priceless to a collector. It may not be to you or my eyes but some nut out there sees it and has to have it will pay anything to add it to his/her collection.
One mans junk is another mans treasure
 
Originally posted by: dxkj
Originally posted by: Crucial
Sebastian Erard was born in Strasbourg on 5th April 1752, and his name was originally spelled Erhard.
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Erard baby grand, $12,500 starting bid.

Erard Grand starting bid $7800

If it really is an erard this page says you can input the serial # and it will tell you the year of MFG.
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1876 - 1900 according to 75425

106-130 years old
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I honestly dont think it is an erard piano. I found this site that does appraisals. I'm wondering if I shuold spend $20 and find out how much it is approximately worth.
 
Taken from this page

French Piano Builders
In France we find a similar decisive role being played by the Alsatian musical-instrument maker Sebastian Erhard. Upon emigrating from Strasbourg to Paris in 1768, he Gallicized his name to Sébastian Érard. Among the other nineteenth-century manufacturers of grand pianofortes worthy of mention were Ignace Pleyel (1757-1831) and his son Camille, also in Paris. Because of their "singing" tone, their instruments found a wide distribution and were especially preferred by Frédéric Chopin. Today the original companies of Érard and Pleyel no longer exist. From 1970 through 1993, Schimmel produced the instruments bearing these brand names.
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I say, do some research before giving it away. Perhaps consult a piano historian/specialist or something.
 
Originally posted by: dxkj
Originally posted by: Crucial
Sebastian Erard was born in Strasbourg on 5th April 1752, and his name was originally spelled Erhard.
Click to expand...

Erard baby grand, $12,500 starting bid.

Erard Grand starting bid $7800

If it really is an erard this page says you can input the serial # and it will tell you the year of MFG.
Click to expand...


1876 - 1900 according to 75425

106-130 years old
Click to expand...

Clearly his is marked NY not Paris and Frace as the erard one were built. So I dont know if the above would be about his piano.
 
Originally posted by: funboy42
Originally posted by: dxkj
Originally posted by: Crucial
Sebastian Erard was born in Strasbourg on 5th April 1752, and his name was originally spelled Erhard.
Click to expand...

Erard baby grand, $12,500 starting bid.

Erard Grand starting bid $7800

If it really is an erard this page says you can input the serial # and it will tell you the year of MFG.
Click to expand...


1876 - 1900 according to 75425

106-130 years old
Click to expand...

Clearly his is marked NY not Paris and Frace as the erard one were built. So I dont know if the above would be about his piano.
Click to expand...

Erard co Inc NY could have been setup as a local importer 🙂
 
Just tell everyone who responded that there is someone else in front of them and you'll get back to them. Then get out the phone book and clal some piano places and tell them what you have and see what they say.
 
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