Custom Made Prairie Style Craftsman / Mission Oak Gerhard Heintzman Grand Piano with Incredible Original Mission Style Painted Murals
A note from Michael Stinnett, Founder of Antique Piano Shop, Inc: As an Arts & Crafts / Mission style furniture collector and enthusiast, I have a personal love for Craftsman style pianos. Over the past 20+ years, we have seen hundreds of thousands of pianos come through our shop and over our email. Less than 5% of those pianos are of the Craftsman / Mission style, and they are all upright pianos. THIS PIANO IS THE ONLY AUTHENTIC PRAIRIE/CRAFTSMAN STYLE GRAND PIANO WE HAVE EVER HAD IN OUR COLLECTION.
When you listen to the video of this piano, keep in mind that the sound quality you hear is coming from an instrument that is all original and has not been tuned in decades - and was just moved nearly 2,000 miles to our shop! That is a real testament to the quality that went into building this piano. As good as it sounds now, imagine how good it will sound after it has been internally restored!
The Arts & Crafts Movement in North America was most popular from about the 1900 - 1915 period, and had all but disappeared before 1920. Although the Arts & Crafts Movement was a relatively short-lived design era, hundreds of thousands of homes were built and furnished in the hugely popular Craftsman/Mission style. Today, there is a huge Renaissance in the Craftsman Movement across North America. Original Craftsman style homes are being renovated, new Craftsman style homes are being built, and most major furniture lines are manufacturing and selling furnishings in the Craftsman style to reflect the Arts & Crafts period.
Because the Arts & Crafts movement was such an extreme change from traditional period styles, piano manufactures were very slow to adapt. Very few manufacturers went to the time and expense of adding Craftsman style pianos to their line. By the time these few makers added Craftsman design pianos to their product line, the Arts & Crafts movement seemed to fade away almost as quickly as it came. As a result, Craftsman style UPRIGHT PIANOS are exceedingly rare today; Craftsman Style GRAND PIANOS are non-existent.
This piano is a custom made, custom designed parlor grand piano built by Gerhard Heintzman of Toronto in 1904. Gerhard Heintzman was the nephew of Theodore Heintzman (the founder of Heintzman & Co. arguably the largest and most successful piano manufacturer in Canadian history). Gerhard Heintzman was born and trained in Germany before moving to America and finally settling in Toronto. Being in direct competition with his uncle Theodore, Gerhard Heintzman remained a smaller-scale firm which specialized in building unusual and custom designed instruments for wealthy clients.
This piano is made of beautiful quarter sawn oak wood. The case is supported by massive Mission style pedestal legs with matching heavy Mission style pedal lyre. All of the exposed cabinet hardware (hinges, pedals, screws, etc.) are finished in an antique copper patina, a striking change from the traditional brass or nickel plated hardware found on most pianos.
The case is adorned with 5 large Mission style painted murals depicting period style winged angels playing musical instruments. These murals are tied together with a double banded strands of painted leaves, vines and flowers. The monogram CMG is delicately painted on either side of the case, or cheek as this area is technically called. This monogram is thought to be that of the original owners name. There is a second set of monograms overlaid on either side of the music rack, both depicting the initials CH and IC, thought to possibly be the monograms of the original designer and artist.
The instrument is a full parlor grand size, the most popular size grand piano for professional use in private homes and studios. Even now, prior to restoration, the instrument has a substantial sound quality a sound quality which will only improve after the instrument is restored.
If desired, this piano can be equipped with the Pianomation player system, and can play by itself by streaming music live on an iPod, computer, iPad, etc.
A matching quarter sawn oak Mission style piano bench is included.