1806 John Broadwood & Son Grand Fortepiano post harpsichord era Beethoven piano

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1806 John Broadwood & Son Grand Fortepiano post harpsichord era Beethoven piano:
$19900.00

Circa 1806John Broadwood & Son Grand Pianoforte

Serial Number 3524

An extraordinarily rare and beautiful historic pianoforte!

New photos of action added, more condition detail

The photographs on this one tell it all. For those that are familiar with early pianofortes this one is a rare gem, of fine appearance. Beautiful mahogany case with inlaid stringing resting on a fine Broadwood Hepplewhite stand (this appears to be the original) with three pedals. This seems to be all original except for having a replacement mahogany music desk and also having been repinned with modern tuning pins.

The general condition on this is pretty much what would be expected from a 209 year old instrument except that the soundboard is in excellent shape with just three very small cracks at the treble end only.The repinning has caused considerable splitting of the pinblock around the pins, also stringing was reduced to two per note (bichord). One would probably want to go back to three strings per note (trichord) in the treble if this were restored. There is considerable \"cheek warp\" which is very much the usual case with these early Broadwood pianofortes, as they are all wood frame. The action itself seems to be functioning fairly well, except that five hammers and shanks are missing and four modern shanks have been installed. The general condition of the case and finish is very nice in my estimation, excepting of course for the cheek warp and some minor edging (moulding) loss in a few spots and the usual dings and scratches to be expected on any fine antique that is over 200 years old.

If you google - early music studio broadwood restoration - you will find an excellent photo presentation of the restoration of a very similar Broadwood Pianoforte from 1809. You may notice that this pianoforte is already in much better condition than the before restoration photos on the 1809 pianoforte. That has also been the case with the few of these that I have seen come up for sale in the past six years, which also were in very rough condition and missing many parts.

This would need full restoration to make it performance ready but it is a priceless museum piece as is and could be used as the piece de la resistance for display in the finest historic home. If you are seriously interested in purchasing I can give more info on the condition and send additional photos as well. I do not mind elaborating on condition detail, as I am in no hurry to sell this anyway. It is actually pretty much the pianoforte I have been hunting for ever since I started collecting them. However, if you are interested feel free to make an offer and I will consider it.

This exquisite Broadwood Grand Pianoforteis the 5 1/2 octave precursor of the 6 octave Broadwood Grand Pianoforte that was given to Beethoven in his later years, but this one would be considered contemporary with the period of Beethoven in his prime, and Haydn in his elder years.

Several Early Broadwood Grand Pianofortes almost identical to this one, have been featured in many of the Jane Austen feature films, including the 1995 version of \"Sense and Sensibility\" and the 1972 version of \"Emma\" just to name a few. This would certainly do for Colonel Brandon\'s fine \"Broadwood Grand Pianoforte\" as mentioned in the 1995 film and the Jane Austen novel.

provenance, aProminent Virginia Estate

The nameboard reads:

?1806?

John Broadwood & Son

Makers to His Majesty and the Princesses

Great Pulteney Street, Golden Square

London

Greetings, I am a Cincinnati area piano tuner-tech with 41 years of experience in the field. I specialize in Steinway grand pianos and very rare early and antique pianos. I can sell you a very nice Steinway grand or rare antique piano at a reasonable price!

This listing may be withdrawn at any time if the item sells elsewhere first.

Best Regards,

Frank Renfrow Piano Tuner-technician

PIANOCINCINNATI