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Subject FREE Baby Grand Piano for someone in Illinois, nr Chicago > help a fine old instrument find a home

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[quote:Harvey the Big Cat:MV8xODkzMDk5XzMxNjI3NjU0XzI4NUMyRjM2]
[quote:Anonymous Coward 17129904:MV8xODkzMDk5XzMxNjI2Nzc5X0REQTUzQzVC]
If this posting is legit...I would be very grateful.  Years ago, I had a 100 yr.old Steinway which I had to sell for personal reasons.  It has always saddened me.

I have longed for a grand since moving to the Chicago area, buying a Victorian house, and trying to replace my old Steinway.

Forgive me for questioning so acutely, but....this is an extraordinary situation.

Appreciate the photo's and would be very interested in this piano (and your suggestion re: movers.)  What would be your suggestion about where to connect from here?

I thank you in advance for your kind reply.
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Here is an example of the ribbon mahogany which they used to use (before the Depression) to make US pianos

It's amazing to think of the craftsmanship involved to make one of these instruments...we take it for granted, but it would cost close to the price of a car or small house to recreate this level of quality today

as said, I paid $200 for mine, this one I'm posting about is free...there are still good things available for little money, if you know where to look, and are willing to do some work with your hands.  I had to lightly sand and buff away years of oils, some cracked varnish and other wear typical of age.  Fortunately no one had put polyurethane on it.

If it is a water based paint, it shouldn't be difficult to strip.  I've stripped old bedroom sets which have been painted, and as long as you have a garage or other space where you can do the work, its not that bad if you have the right tools and you like  the detail work.

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http://imageshack.us/a/img256/1841/stegerside.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img43/4276/stegerlogo.jpg

You can see how mine has the same music stand, the same legs as the one being given away.  It must be quite similar in construction and materials, because as I discovered through research Steger didn't make a "bargain" line

My piano tuner told me the braces underneath mine are of a thickness and quality he's only seen on concert grands

These things(Stegers) were totally overbuilt, which is why they make good restoration candidates unless they were totally abused, the harp is cracked or left untuned or left in a dry climate for years - which warps and cracks the sound board
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Original Message Hi!

I like to find jobs for people, and homes for pets and instruments

In this case, I have a lead on an excellent old baby grand piano from a fantastic US pre WWII company most have never heard of

This piano is FREE to a good home

The piano is currently in Berwyn Illinois, about 10 miles from Chicago

That means it's not that far from Indiana, just in case someone is interested in a drive to get a piano free

I do not know the owner, but I actively follow this group, and they are good people who love antique instruments.

This is a STEGER baby grand, a company which once competed directly with the best Steinway had to offer

I have one of these pianos myself, a 1915, and it is amazing. I have barely even refurbished it, and I already think it sounds better than my 1950s Baldwin baby grand

John V. Steger was a German immigrant who arrived in the US with the intention of making the finest pianos in the world. He established the Steger Piano Company in Illinois in 1879

In pre WWI America, he had access to the best materials > heaviest brass, best old growth wood, and old world craftsmen who had immigrated to the new world.

In the first 30 years of the company, Steger did not produce 'discount' pianos. He only made deluxe instruments.

Sadly, John Steger committed suicide in 1915, and his sons kept up the company until the Great Depression and the rise of radio and phonographs decimated the demand for pianos by the middle class. Many fine old American piano brands vanished in the 1930s and 40s.

The company was bought and the name used until 1959, but in my experience, the best Stegers date from pre 1920

[link to www.antiquepianoshop.com]

My mother was a classical piano teacher, and she felt some of the best pianos in the world were made in the US before the great depression for the reasons listed above

An amazing example of a US world class piano are the famous 1928 Steinway concert grands which are still highly sought after and used in concert and recording halls around the world

If you are a musician looking for a worthy project, you could do worse than a Steger. They are overbuilt and once refurbished, are sought after by collectors

Hope to hear from someone. I rescued my Steger from a household about to dump it after the grandparents died, and I have not regretted it

Pictures (click to insert)





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