Adorned with exquisite inlay, marquetry and paintings, this custom made Broadwood Concert Grand Piano was designed and decorated by the illustrious firm of “Monblond & Coiffier” and subsequently sold by Trollope & Sons’ “Museum of Decorative Art”.
This is one of the most beautiful custom made European Concert Grand Pianos we've seen at the Antique Piano Shop. It was built by John Broadwood & Sons, one of the oldest and most renowned piano builders in history.
But this piano was holding a secret;
Recently found paperwork also explains this piano was once inside the private apartments of Buckingham Palace in London, England. An official letter from the Lord Chamberlain's Office of The Palace dated August 26th, 1952, says this piano stood at one time in the Eighteenth Century Room, which forms part of the Belgian Suite at Buckingham Palace.
This piano continued to be destined for royalty. After its stay inside of Buckingham Palace, it was purchased by a family that is descendant from the line of kings of the Hawaiian Islands.
Because Broadwood pianos have been in constant production for nearly 300 years, records of many Broadwood pianos built over the centuries still exist in Broadwoods London archives. It is fascinating to learn, via serial number, when a Broadwood piano was built, what model it was, what style, wood and finish it had, and where it was originally sold and delivered.
Broadwoods own records tell us that this piano left the Broadwood factory July 12th, 1877. It was sent to a small firm of artists known as "Monblond & Coiffier" of 27 Castle Street East at Oxford St., London. The artists of Monblond & Coiffier carried out the decorative painted work of floral garlands and dancing figurines on the satinwood case. The newly decorated piano was then returned to Broadwoods showrooms on September 22, 1877.
Broadwood then delivered the piano to the showrooms of "Trollpe & Sons, Museum of Decorative Art", on October 12th, 1877. Trollpe & Sons was situated in Halkin Street West, Belgravia, a very expensive and exclusive district of London close to Buckingham Palace. The instrument was sent to Trollpe & Sons on approval for ten days at no charge, during which time Trollope & Sons sold the instrument to a Mr. G.W. Willet of Brighton. This piano sold new for over 300 British Pounds in 1877, a staggering amount when you consider a typical piano was selling for about 40 British Pounds at that time!
This piano is an irreplaceable part of musical and artistic history. It is being restored to like new condition, inside and out, so that it is a functional and durable musical instrument in addition to a beautiful piece of furniture. The restoration is being done with historical perspective in order to maintain the instrument's unique antique and historical integrity.