Hi folks;
Am about to begin a major job on a very old Steinway "M" (including new pins, strings, etc.) but have a concern about authenticity of the piano. No where, other than on the fall board which has the regular appearing Steinway name, can I find evidence that this is a Steinway. No where is is stamped on the plate, no where can I find a serial number. Have pulled the action, checked under the piano, everywhere, and nothing. Have written Steinway, but no reply. Being relatively inexperienced, I wonder if any of you have run into a situation like this. It was purchased "sight unseen" from a mid-western state and shipped to present location in Alabama (because of the "terrific price" according to the present owner ($8,000) plus a considerable shipping charge. Owner was told it was about a 1930 model.
I don't want to start a major job on this thing if by some remote chance, this isn't the real thing. Thank you so much for any advice you can give. Ray Micsan

All Steinways have the name cast into the plate, as far as I know. All Steinway grands since the 1880s have the characteristic metal action rails.

If you want more information, you should supply a photograph.

Ray,

My Dad once restored an old player that had no name whatsoever. When he asked the owner what name she wanted on the fallboard she said "whatever - anything will do", so he used a Steinway decal!

It's easy to put any decal on the fallboard, sometimes for unethical purposes.

If you are unable to take a picture for us, compare the appearance of the plate to another M (many pictures on ebay), and see if it looks the same. As BDB said, I've never seen a Steinway without the name cast into the plate.

We've got a couple of M's in the shop from before that time frame. They all have markings on the plate...also have serial #'s on all parts. You should be able to find a serial # somewhere. I have an A from 1909 that has plate markings that I can post some pics of if you want...

It's not a Steinway. They should have had it checked out by a technician before it was shipped. Buyer beware times ten when buying over the internet!

It's all Steinway style though? Hammers, scallop flanges, scale, rim style...

It ain't no Steinway...
Does it have a Steinway action...?
If you can't recognize a Steinway action I wonder how on earth you expect to work on it...
Have you done any rebuilding before?

Could be a very expensive lesson...

Please post a pic of the action for us all to look at...we can then offer more help in identifying it.

But, as stated above...the plate is the thing....in a nutshell.

Actually I have heard of counterfeit Steinways in the marketplace.Haven't actually seen any.
If someone's intent was to do this they could actually take an old vintage Kurtzman or ? and COSMETICALLY make it look pretty convincing as for the case and top end with a few alterations. Add duplex bars,miscellaneous plate grinding and casting etc.The giveaway is the action stack. If that fools you, you deserve to be taken.
Actually a similar scenario applies when I converse to persons that later realize that they purchased an explayer Steinway grand at what they thought was a STEAL of a deal. A gutted XR,OR or ?.Should've sprung for that extra $ and hired that tech in hindsight.

As for the no serial # predictament, Steinway is not very helpful as for cross referencing the part # with that nowhere to be found serial #. I've been down this road already with them.
So....a pic is worth a thousand words.

I saw a fake once. The store took it in on trade. Nobody inspected the piano beforehand. Once we saw it, I had to break the bad news to the store owner.