Preserve Your Piece of Americana
The antique piano market captivates collectors and music enthusiasts with its blend of historical significance and artistic beauty. These cherished instruments represent a unique piece of Americana, each telling its own story through intricate craftsmanship and melodic resonance.
The value of these musical treasures stems from several key elements:
- Master Craftsmanship: Hand-carved details and premium materials showcase the artistry of bygone eras
- Historical Significance: All of our pianos were painstakingly crafted from as far back as the 1840s to the America's Golden Age of piano manufacturing and beyond.
- Rarity: Limited production numbers and surviving specimens make certain models highly sought after
Antique piano sales have seen remarkable growth, with some specimens doubling in value over the past decade. This surge reflects a growing appreciation for these pianos as both functional musical instruments and works of art. They are more than just keyboards; they are beautiful collectibles that have a charm beyond their sound. Each piano has its own story to tell through its seasoned wood, intricate hand-tooled designs, and unique sound qualities to which new pianos can't come close.
The skill and creativity behind these vintage pianos demonstrate a level of craftsmanship that is rarely found today:
- Hand-carved rosettes on the music desk
- Ornate leg designs with scrollwork and fluting
- Decorative music racks made with inlaid woods and brass accents
- Custom-designed pedal lyres showcasing artistic styles from specific periods
Antique Pianos as Design Statements
Interior designers highly value antique pianos as focal points in room designs. A restored Baldwin or Steinway from the 1920s or a Victorian-era Chickering, Mason & Hamlin, or Knabe can instantly elevate any space, making it more interesting and blending musical history with visual impact.
The Craftsmanship Behind the Sound
But the appeal of antique pianos goes beyond looks. Skilled craftsmen dedicated countless hours to meticulously handcrafting each part:
- Individually shaped and voiced hammers
- Precisely hand-carved string bridges
- Hand-wound bass strings
- Well-seasoned soundboards (think Stratovarius violins)
- Carefully balanced key weights
These pianos represent a time when piano making combined artistry with technical expertise. Every time you press a key, you can feel the passion of the artisans who painstakingly shaped each piece by hand, resulting in instruments that produce rich, complex tones impossible to recreate using modern manufacturing techniques.
Restoration and Preservation
Restoration Advantages:
- Improved sound quality and playability
- Enhanced aesthetic appeal
- Increased market value for performance instruments
- Better long-term durability
Preservation Benefits:
- Original finishes carry historical significance and are retained if not detracting significantly from the over-all aesthetic.
- Original parts are retained whenever possible; new parts are identical duplicates of the originals
- Higher appeal to museum curators and serious collectors
Embracing Heritage Through Music with Your Own Piece of Americana
An antique piano is a living piece of American musical history. Each hand-crafted instrument tells its own story through intricate woodwork, unique tonal qualities, and the countless melodies it has played through generations. As far back as the mid-1800s, when American-built pianos began to dominate the market, immigrants were coming to this country with pianos from their home countries. Those pianos also became part of the American piano landscape.
Your vintage piano will be a stunning centerpiece, sparking conversations and creating new memories while preserving old ones. You're becoming a custodian of craftsmanship. You preserve a piece of history while creating your own legacy for future generations to cherish.
About us personally......
American Classic Piano Company didn't start out as a piano company at all; it started as a boy who wanted to make music.
Warren Niles Baker, owner/operator/founder of American Classic Piano Company started his musical career as a drummer at the age of 12. He entered college (not at age 12 but a few years later) on a percussion scholarship, but wanted to write music, so he majored in music theory and composition, not really having a clue about it. He was told, "Well, son, if you want to write music, you had better learn to play the piano." So he began playing piano at the age of 19. He was traveling with a band during summer break as the drummer and hauled a spinet piano from hotel to hotel to work on his piano skills. It was by necessity that he learned how to tune the piano that he hauled around. That self-taught tuning skill ultimately turned into a full-time piano business in Louisiana and then in Colorado when he moved the family there in the 90s.
American Classic Piano grew out of that small tuning business into a full-blown piano rebuilding and refinishing shop specializing in preserving and recycling vintage pianos.