Showing posts with label Whelpdale. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Whelpdale. Show all posts

Sunday 10 October 2021

Welmar Serial Nos.

 

Year

Serial No.

Year

Serial No.

1925

13000

1970

70000

1930

16500

1972

72000

1935

20000

1974

74000

1938

21600

1976

76000

1940

23500

1978

78000

1946

46000

1980

80000

1948

48000

1982

82000

1950

50000

1984

84000

1952

52000

1986

86000

1954

54000

1988

107140

1956

56000

1990

107935

1958

58000

1992

108420

1960

60000

1994

109205

1962

62000

1996

109990

1964

64000

1998

110590

1966

66000

2000

110940

1968

68000

2002

111240

These serial numbers can be used only as a reference point.
An Exact date does not make a material difference to an assessment of a piano - a year or so out 120 years ago really is neither here more there.

The idea that 100% accuracy for all piano makers over a century ago is an interesting thought - but considering that all record keeping would be hand-written and kept in large ledger books, inaccuracies are likely. These records will be as reliable as the clerks whose job it was to keep them. The digital age of barcodes and scanned labels was still in the realm of science fiction. So we have to be content with our best guess numbers.

Back to the Piano Atlas

Friday 22 August 2014

Bluthner Pianos

At Leipzig, in 1853 Julius Bluthner began making pianos. The qualities of Bluthner Pianos soon won them recognition among the great names of the piano trade and among the Royal Courts of numerous countries - Queen Victoria, the Russian Tsar and many others owned Bluthner Pianos!

Julius Bluthner worked hard at creating a network of international contacts to ensure he could establish a truly global demand for his pianos. Here in the UK, Whelpdale, Maxwell & Codd was founded in 1876 - purely to import Bluthner Pianos.
After surviving the First World War, and then the Great Depression, the business suffered a severe blow when, during the Second World War, their factory was bombed in an air raid in 1943. The difficult, East German politics of the time meant recovery was very slow. However, production of Bluthner Pianos began once more in 1948.

The firm was nationalised in the 1970s but in 1990, the business was given back to the Bluthner family.

People still talk about the ‘Bluthner’ tone! The beauty of a good piano is found in its tone - Somehow, the Bluthner pianos, more often than not, seemed to get it right! Solidly built to last, many Bluthner pianos, 100 years old or more, are still being used and often still sounding as clear and pure as ever. People love them!

For a while Bluthners used their own Patent Action - vastly different from what has become the standard ‘roller’ action. These patent actions used a slightly shallower touch, but when working properly are, even now, a delight to play! 

Another notable innovation was the ‘Aliquot’ system: a 4th string was given to the upper two thirds of the treble strings. This 4th string was not struck by the hammer but was left to pick up the vibrations of the notes ‘sympathetically’ - the result was a very subtle extra layer of harmonic overtones. Quality has a voice of its own! In a Bluthner Piano, this voice is always in good form!


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Sunday 19 January 2014

Welmar Pianos

The story of the Welmar piano begins at the end of the first world war. The hardships of the post-war economy gave the piano trade an uphill struggle as it sought to re-establish sales and profitability. Whelpdale and Maxwell began business in 1876 importing Bluthner pianos from Germany and until the war, they had built a strong business on the qualities of the Bluthner pianos. In 1919, the public were now unhappy about buying German pianos, and Whelpdale & Maxwell had to find an alternative source of income until the mood against German pianos had softened.

Cremona Ltd. of Camberwell, London, made pianos for the trade and used names like Squire & Longson, Ronson and Paul Newman. In 1919 Whelpdale & Maxwell commissioned Cremona Ltd to make pianos using the trade name Welmar.

The Cremona team continued to develop and improve their pianos - particularly the metal frame and the soundboard. But in 1929, disaster hit when the factory was burnt down. The company never recovered from the catastrophy and closed the business in 1934.

Whelpdale Maxwell & Codd (as it now was), managed to acquire the Cremona designs, jigs and templates and began making Cremona-designed pianos but using the Welmar name at a new factory at Clapham Park Road. 

Production continued at Clapham until 2001, when, at an extremely difficult time for the piano trade, all was moved for a short time, to Stroud in Gloucestershire.

The Welmar piano has always been appreciated by serious piano players and students. They were built with the Bluthner tone in mind, by craftsmen devoted to the art of piano-building. Welmar pianos are almost universally admired by piano tuners! And, as they are generally hard to please - this is no small achievement.