We recently had someone come out and look at our antique piano regarding tuning it, etc. He can (and probably will at some point) fix its ills but said that, even though it has a beautiful original finish and is quite elaborately carved, its value even when restored will not be much more than $300.

So unless yours is very rare or a much-desired brand (I don't recognize it), it might not be worth too much at the moment. I'm not sure why pianos don't seem to be worth very much unless they're "special." I'd probably look into getting the finish restored if it was me, but if you do, have someone give you a valuation as-is so you don't end up doing it and regretting it later!

I was going to say the same thing. Upright pianos (a.k.a. parlor grands or studio grands), some of them quite wonderful in both sound and appearance, go for shockingly little money these days.

I agree with the above.....but that said, it won't be cheap to restore the finish.
Before I spent a lot on it I would see what happend when it gets tuned....see if it needs new pads, see if the sounding board is whole and if the pins are not so loose that it doesn't hold it's tune. In other words, see if it's mucically sound before you worry about the cosmetics.
Linda C

We had one very similar to yours and of the same era that we finally sold to a family in the neighborhood who wanted a "starter piano" for their son. Unfortunately, what the others said above is sooo true, these old pianos don't hold value as other antiques do, unless they were something special. During my research, I learned that so many of these type of pianos were turned out at the turn of the century. There is a very informative piano forum on the net....and I've lost the url. Try googling "piano forum" and you'll find it....they were most helpful to me when I was deciding whether to keep it or get rid of it.

Thanks, everyone!

This piano has a wonderful tone. There is a university level music school in town which the piano man has worked with and he feels that this piano is worth restoring. He checked the sound board when he unloaded the piano and it is in perfect shape. Even though the piano has not been tuned for a very long time and has been moved twice since, it is not far off tune.

The felts are compressed and could stand to be replaced, but they may be the originals - the piano man thought that this piano has never been played much and has been treated pretty good, outside excepted.

Since there are several professional musicians in training in the family, I doubt this piano will ever be sold. And it is a far better piano than 99% of the junk manufactured today, so I think it is worth keeping.

I'll look up the piano forum for mare advice.

Thanks!
Anne