Steinway & Sons Model A Ebonized Patent Grand Piano and Bench

ca. 1890, and bearing the serial number 67658, with an adjustable bench.
piano h. 39", w. 56", l. 73", bench h. 18" to 20", w. 24", d. 17"

Object: Steinway Model A Serial No: 67658 Date of Mfg: c. 1890 This is the first version of the grand piano model A. 6’, AAA-a4, 7 octaves (85 notes). It has 20 bass notes and 9 wound string unisons on a tenor bridge. The action has been replaced. They did not use Steinway parts but these are high quality. The knuckle dimension is 16 mm, which matches the original geometry. The hammers look like Abel but could also be Ronsen with the walnut molding. They are brighter than I would expect from Ronsen so I’m inclined to think they are the German made Abels but I can’t say definitively. The pinblock has been replaced and the pins feel tight and smooth. I suspect that the soundboard and bridge caps were replaced but, again, I can’t confirm that. They certainly show no cracks or ridges and are clean and neat. Whoever did the restoration did a solid job and the piano plays well and sounds good. The action regulation is perfectly fine for home use but would need some work to get it up to performance standards. The same with the hammers, for peak performance they should be filed, spaced and fit to the strings better than they currently are but they are certainly acceptable for average use. The pedals and dampers work as they should.