RESTORATION LIBRARY
ABOUT RESTORATION
RESTORATION PACKAGES
INSTRUMENTS FOR SALE

1907 Smith & Nixon Grand Piano

BEFORE

Prior to restoration, the mahogany finish has chemically broken down and "alligatored" making it scaly and rough to the touch. Dark, dirty and barely playable, one can still see the amazing potential of this beautiful instrument.

AFTER

After restoration, the beautiful Honduran Mahogany wood is absolutely stunning! Professional refinishing and internal restoration has made this piano look, play and sound like it did when it was built in 1907!

 

Scroll down to see the piano restoration process!

ABOUT THIS PIANO:  This beautiful piano was built by The Smith & Nixon Piano Company of Cincinnati in 1907.  Smith & Nixon was a lesser-known manufacturers that built SUPERIOR pianos.  Instruments by the firm are consistently some of the most well-made pianos we see come through our shop.  Because of their high cost when new, Smith & Nixon built pianos were never built in high volume like other makers, and they are a bit rare today.
This particular piano is one of Smith & Nixon's "top of the line" models in a handsomely carved French Louis XV style cabinet.  This would have been one of the most expensive pianos money could buy in 1907!
This piano has been well cared for and loved by it's family over the years.  At 111 years old, it was suffering expected wear and tear with the old finish turning dark and the interior components failing.  The old strings had become brittle and were unable to stay in tune.  Luckily, the owners realized what a special heirloom they had in their family so the decision was made to invest in restoration and preservation. Note that the owners opted to have the Pianomation player system installed in this piano so that it can play by itself in addition to being played manually by hand!  Over 10,000 songs are available!

Scroll down to see the piano restoration process!

Piano Restoration Process:

Assessment & Disassembly

The piano is inspected prior to disassembly.  The old finish has become dark and alligatored over time, and the interior components are dirty and worn.  The keys, action, strings and harp are removed from the instruments and sent to their respective teams throughout the shop for restoration.  Each individual piece is labeled and recorded, and the elaborate "SMITH & NIXON PATENT GRAND, CHICAGO" name decal is carefully measured and recorded so an exact duplicate can be made.

Piano Restoration Process:

Cabinet Repair & Refinishing

The old deteriorated finish is carefully stripped from the mahogany cabinet.  The bare wood is carefully repaired, re-glued and parts are hand-sanded.  All wood carvings are carefully cleaned, and missing parts are hand-carved by our master woodworkers with historic precision.  Several coats of mahogany stain, sealer and lacquer are applied to the case, each coat being painstakingly sanded to achieve the finest lusture and clarify.  The end result is absolutely stunning!

Piano Restoration Process:

Soundboard Repair & Re-Stringing

Over time, piano strings become rusted and corroded so that their sound quality becomes dead and "tubby".  The old rusty strings are carefully removed from the piano with each individual string's size and diameter recorded.  The harp is removed from the piano and the old-grown wood soundboard and bridges are repaired and refinished.

Note that Smith & Nixon pianos featured a unique silver gilded harp in their pianos, quite a different look than the traditional gold harps seen in most pianos!  The old dull silver harp is stripped and refinished with brilliant silver lacquer, all done with historical accuracy and precision.  With a new pin block is hand-made for the piano, the harp is reinstalled on the restored soundboard and new strings are installed.  Note the extra attention our team takes with the cosmetic details to make everything look factory new!

Piano Restoration Process:

Action & Keyboard Restoration

The piano action comes to us brittle and dirty with the old felts and leathers deteriorated beyond repair.  The keys and action frame are so dirty that they must be soda blasted to make them clean again.

The piano gets new hammers, shanks, flanges and whippens with all other felt, leather and bushings replaced in the piano.  The original ivory keyboard is repaired and the ivory restored and polished to look brand new again!  After assembly, regulation and tuning, the piano is now ready to be delivered back to it's happy home!

PHOTOS OF PIANO

AFTER COMPLETE RESTORATION

 

Can you imagine a piano being more beautiful than this?  After professional restoration, the Honduran Mahogany wood shines once again like it did when it was built in 1907.  The interior of the piano not only looks new, but functions, plays and sounds like a brand new top quality instrument.  This instrument really is an example of American piano building at its finest.

SEE AND HEAR THE FULLY RESTORED PIANO!

Learn more about restoring your heirloom instrument!

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    Antique Piano Shop, Inc.,
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    Friendsville, TN 37737

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