Dr. Dreadful asked me if we wanted a free piano. One of his co-workers found it left behind by a former tenant in one of her properties. If we removed it we could have it.I was told that it had white paint on it, had lots of carving making it look old and it was made in the 1960's. It sounded cool so I agreed sight unseen.
After much fuss and aching backs Dr. Dreadful and friends showed up with the piano at our house. It was indeed very cool.
Whomever painted this with a thick layer of interior wall primer does need a serious beating. Upon further inspection the piano didn't look to be constructed in the 1960's. After some serious googling I found that it is actually an antique. Based on the serial number it is around a year 1909-1912 Smith & Barnes. A similar one fully restored sold for around $9700. It does need a small bit of work, one of the hammers was broken but otherwise is one of the most amazing sounding pianos.I did discover that the finish underneath the primer is recoverable. By using a piece of extra fine sandpaper I was able to get down to pure finish without damage. So this will be my January and February project, hand sanding the entire piano.
My sanity in March remains to be seen.
The images do not do justice to the detailed carving.
