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#1839795 - 02/06/12 08:33 PM 1915 Apollo Reproducing Piano
KRichards20 Offline
Junior Member

Registered: 02/06/12
Posts: 2
I have recently come into possession of a 1915 Apollo Reproducing Baby Grand. I do not have room for it and looking to sell. The only problem is that I do not know a lot about early 20th century pianos and can not find much help online. I am wondering if anyone on here could give me a rough estimate on how much you think it is worth. The piano is in pretty good shape for its age. It does have a few cosmetic damages on the lid but it is playable (just needs tuning).I know that is not a whole lot of information to go on, but just wondering if anyone has any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

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#1839854 - 02/06/12 10:26 PM Re: 1915 Apollo Reproducing Piano [Re: KRichards20]
Dave B Offline
500 Post Club Member

Registered: 08/01/11
Posts: 780
Loc: Philadelphia area
I doubt this is the right forum for this, But pics and more information would be a big help.

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#1839896 - 02/06/12 11:28 PM Re: 1915 Apollo Reproducing Piano [Re: KRichards20]
Supply Offline
2000 Post Club Member

Registered: 09/11/06
Posts: 2702
Loc: Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
You won't find many experts on that type of piano on this site.
I suggest going to the Mechanical Music Digest at
mmd.foxtail.com
_________________________
Jurgen Goering
Piano Forte Supply
www.pianofortesupply.com

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#1839910 - 02/06/12 11:58 PM Re: 1915 Apollo Reproducing Piano [Re: KRichards20]
beethoven986 Offline
1000 Post Club Member

Registered: 01/20/09
Posts: 1767
Apollos were high quality instruments, but being as old as yours is, it's not going to need "just a tuning". It's going to need a restoration, unless it's already had one not long ago. You may be able to get a few grand for it, but I should think less than $5,000.
_________________________
B.Mus. Piano Performance 2009
M.Mus. Piano Performance & Literature 2011
PTG Associate Member (Just joined 5-5-2012!)

Current projects: Brahms: Variations on a Theme by Handel, op. 24

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#1840198 - 02/07/12 01:18 PM Re: 1915 Apollo Reproducing Piano [Re: KRichards20]
KRichards20 Offline
Junior Member

Registered: 02/06/12
Posts: 2
Thank you all for your responses. Now I guess the question is; do I have it restored or sell as is? Below are some picture for those interested. You can see the damage to the lid in the last one.






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#1840283 - 02/07/12 04:16 PM Re: 1915 Apollo Reproducing Piano [Re: KRichards20]
Supply Offline
2000 Post Club Member

Registered: 09/11/06
Posts: 2702
Loc: Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
The damage to the lid is the least of your worries.

The materials used in players (rubberized cloth, gasket leathers etc.) have a lifespan of several decades. Virtually all of these instruments are now 100 years old and need complete rebuilding. Proper restoration of the player mechanism alone can easily run several thousand dollars, for a reproducer such as an Apollo add a few thousand. This is without touching anything else in the piano, all of which looks original = needs a lot of work to function as designed, to its full potential. That is why players often sell for less than the same piano without a player. It may be sad, but it's true.

There is a limited collectors market for this kind of instrument. Often, upright players are advertised for free. Grands can usually do better, but no one is going to pay a king's ransom...
_________________________
Jurgen Goering
Piano Forte Supply
www.pianofortesupply.com

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#1840306 - 02/07/12 04:54 PM Re: 1915 Apollo Reproducing Piano [Re: KRichards20]
beethoven986 Offline
1000 Post Club Member

Registered: 01/20/09
Posts: 1767
To add to what Jurgen said, if you opt for restoration, you will have to find someone well versed in player restoration (or you could have the player removed). To properly restore the piano, even if it didn't have a player, would be in the tens of thousands of dollars.
_________________________
B.Mus. Piano Performance 2009
M.Mus. Piano Performance & Literature 2011
PTG Associate Member (Just joined 5-5-2012!)

Current projects: Brahms: Variations on a Theme by Handel, op. 24

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#1840341 - 02/07/12 06:01 PM Re: 1915 Apollo Reproducing Piano [Re: KRichards20]
BDB Offline
Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member

Registered: 06/07/03
Posts: 16559
Loc: Oakland
Apollo was related to Melville Clark, and later Wurlitzer. I believe that the player was the Recordo system, which was not as sophisticated an expression player as Ampico, DuoArt, or Welte Mignon. Rolls are difficult to find, although it will play standard rolls. They were rather average pianos.
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Semipro Tech

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