quote:

Originally posted by Zorba:
1902 Broadwood at the V&A Museum, London.

Fugly if you ask me...

That's 1902? It has such an art deco look. I would have pegged it as much later. A designer ahead of his time?

Er, um, so is someone going to tell the rest of us whose grave that is back on page 37? Or am I the only one who doesn't know?

BTW, I absolutely love this thread!!! I sometimes go back and look at the earlier pages and dream. Pianos are such amazing things!

quote:

Originally posted by Frycek:
I like the "Phat" one. It reminds me of a very dignified and ornate toad, a positive burgermeister of toads.

That is such an apt description of that one!

Shiro, that grave is Kimball's, one of the largest volume makers in American history. Owned or still owns Boesendorfer as a division of a large conglomerate now, but the company is into cabinets and furniture more these days than in pianos. Many of their pianos of their later years were regarded as mediocre (when everyone in the U.S. was, at best, also mediocre--a period that saw the demise of many of the last survivors of thousands of American makers that had gone out of business decades earlier during "The Great Depression". Few remember their early Kimball production included some really decent pianos between 1890 and 1915. (I still have one among my group from 1896. Everyone who has ever played it has said, "What a gorgeous tone!" I've been offered very interesting trades for it, but I have no interest in parting with it, even while several others have come and gone.) It's because Kimball produced such a manufacturing empire on the back of the piano production that I said I could understand the extravagance of that gravesite. Anyone can argue about the success of their designs, but few would argue about the success of the company. They delivered decent pianos for the home and schools quite consistently, even if their best might never be ranked in that Tier One category. Nothing wrong with that business model. And nothing wrong with enjoying an old Kimball. Some truly justified it.

We have a Kimball 9' here at the school that sits in a piano lab. The poor girl had an unfortunate "rewhatever" that wasn't ever finished before it was donated. I keep it going, but haven't ever been interested in re-doing the re-do. I've been mostly replacing jacks as they break in addition to tuning.



Most of the Kimballs I see are of this variety:



Though I've seen a few of these:

A Mathushek cocked hat:



Bunch of info and more pix here:

http://www.pgtigercat.com/VILSList28/VILSLIST28.html

Whoa, verrrry cool. I hadn't seen that design before!

I actually don't mind the green Chickering. I wonder if looking at all the "unusual" pianos on this thread is distorting my prespective!! Especially because, I also kind of like that white Kimble upright back on the previous page. I've never liked white grands, they seem to be in the same family as those white polyester slacks from the 70s, and it seems impossible to imagine a room where a white piano would look good. But that white upright looks like it would go nicely with a lot of "at-home" decor I can imagine.

Thanks for cluing me in on the gravesite BTW, I figured it was a piano-maker's. I actually didn't know that Kimble made furntiture, I only knew of them as a piano co.

I know a lot of people seem to think that a piano is a table, but - a stage?

For the serious musician . . .

Ewww, the green one harkens back to the days of "antiquing" furniture in the 60s. Remember those kits which were nothing but glorified paint with a streaky stain to put on top. I dare say, lots of perfectly good furniture was ruined with that stuff.

Anyone remember this one?



Here's a clue

Here we go with another rediculous Grand, actually kinda pretty:

You should post that in The Thread over at PW, Kathy.

Actually, I just found an even better one (the weird thing is, it seems to have found me. It spontaneously appeared on my browser - how'd that happen???). Go look.

I don't think we've seen an Erard in awhile. Look at the grain matching...