1892 Steinway & Sons Model C Grand Piano Restored

This listing is for a beautiful 1892 Steinway & Sons grand piano with an ebony finish. The instrument was purchased by the Vermont Symphony Orchestra in 1992, at which time they had extensive restoration work done. It is a “C” model, one not manufactured any longer, and it is about a foot shorter than a standard concert grand piano. It is sometimes called a small concert grand or a semi-concert grand. The serial number is 74169, and according to Steinway & Sons the instrument was manufactured circa 1892. This gorgeous instrument is only being sold because the Symphony recently purchased a full size concert grand. It has been played by some of the world's leading pianists, adding a unique history to this particular piano. It comes with a professional quality road case as well as a spider dolly. The piano is available for viewing and for playing at the Flynn Theatre in Burlington, Vermont 05401. We can arrange truck freight shipping anywhere in the continental United States. Please call or email with your zip code for a shipping quote or to set up a time to see this piano.

Extensive restoration work was done on the instrument in 1992 by Allan Day of Williston, Vermont. The refurbishment included:

• a new soundboard, bridges, pinblock, and strings;
• refelted damper heads with a new damper underlever system with a new tray to accommodate concert caliber performances; and
• new hammers, shanks, flanges and wippens and regulated action.

Artists who have performed on this piano include…

Philippe Entremont
Claude Frank
Arlo Guthrie
Grant Johannesen
Joseph Kalichstein
Jeffrey Siegel

Some notes on the piano... ~ by Allan Day

It has been an exciting challenge to be involved in restoring this fine instrument. This Steinway was built during the golden era of Victorian opulence when pianos were at the core of family entertainment. During those years, piano companies enjoyed the highest level of production ever. Stellar piano makers like Steinway vied for preeminence and were challenged to produce the finest pianos to satisfy this competitive market.

I first saw this piano at home of Richard Baird of Stowe and realized that the instrument had tremendous potential. I called Steinway and Sons in New York, and, with the help of their excellent research department, was able to find out that the piano had been built circa 1892. Their records showed that it had been delivered in March of that year (by horse drawn truck) to the Caspary residence in the East Seventies in Manhattan. Inside the piano I discovered bits of Germany newspapers used to shim the sensitive parts of the action to precise measurements. According to the folks at Steinway, these are a legacy left by the original German émigré craftsmen who would have worked on this instrument. (We've decided to leave bits of these in as a sort of time capsule for the piano's bicentennial.)

These finer Steinways were built to be used for generations. When Tom Philion and the VSO decided to purchase the instrument and have it completely rebuilt, they decided to do the job right. Instead of modern glues, old-fashioned water-soluble glues have been used. Materials were ordered from a company based in Germany that supplies parts made from vintage Steinway dies. What tonight's musicians are playing, and you are hearing, is a piano that has the same touch and sound as it did one hundred years ago. We are so fortunate to have the legacy of this quality piano for a new and broader audience of music lovers.

A final note: This model, "C" piano (a size Steinway stopped making in the 1920's) is about a foot shorter than today's standard concert grand. However, in its day it was considered a concert model scaled to the smaller halls popular from the years 1888 to 1905. These halls would have been just about the size of the Flynn Theatre.

Allan Day is a registered piano technician with 20 years' experience building pianos in Chicago. He now continues that tradition from his Williston studio.

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