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Hello,

I have an offer to buy very old Bosendorfer 200, Opus number 2xx, dated from year 1830-1840.

Condition is bad but I can restore it, but wood is good, especially wooden frame.

How much this should cost and how much I can sell it after that?

I don't need to sell it, I'm a certain collection person, but I would like to know does it worth something?

Having Bosendorfer 170 from 1933. which I play; and I would keep this old one for collection.

Please let me know.

Thanks a lot!!

A piano that old would be very much a collector's item, so it would really have to be appraised as such. The market would be quite volatile, as collections become available as they are dispersed, which can happen at any time. I suspect it would not be worth very much. There are not a lot of piano collectors, so the demand is low.

Have you inspected the piano to see if it is what it purports to be? A Bösendorfer from this period would have a Viennese action and a composite frame, probably, and fewer than 85 keys, I would think.

Thanks.

Yes, it has 85 keys, Viennese action and wooden frame.

Piano costs very low, can get it for as less then couple of thousands euros.

Material for complete repaint, strings, keys (they are bad) will cost me around 1.5k. Plus my work.

So my total price would be as low as 3k for complete restored piano.

What do you think about it? And how much you think that some collector would be interesting for it since it's a very low Opus number?

It's a waste not to repair it, it's another why I want to repair it and make it look good. I don't want such a pretty to get waste..

Thanks.

If it has 85 keys, it is probably not that old.

Opus number is 2xx, I saw on Bosendorfer site that is manufactured between 1830 and 1840.

That is provided the number you saw was correct and the serial number. It is easy for either of those two things to be mistaken.

A photo would help identify it.

I just wrote the guy to send me images of OPUS number.

How to upload image here? I can only upload it on some ftp and share link or?

You can post it in the Piano Photo Gallery.

I've uploaded it. Guy just sent me image. It's not a good quality but it's easy to read opus number:

I was hoping for a picture of the entire piano. I am pretty sure that is not a serial number.

I thought that Bösendorfer called their serial numbers "opus numbers."

Larry.

They do: http://www.boesendorfer.com/en/news-events/news/item/185-years-of-boesendorfer-and-opus-no-50000

As a collector's piece, probably the worst thing you could do would be a modern rebuild. It would need museum type conservation.

Opus is a serial number. Piano is from 1830-40. It's look very old, has Viennese action, wooden frame, 2 pedals etc.

I didn't want to rebuild it in modern style but to paint it like it was in original.

To fix strings, keys etc.

It would cost me ~3k. Is it worth it?

It has a metal bar in the picture, so it does not have any more of a wooden frame than most pianos. Also, that seal does not say Bösendorfer on it, it says Johann (something). The Bösendorfers were Ignaz and Ludwig.

Many of their workers went on to establish their own companies and labeled themselves as followers of Bösendorfer, but they are not Bösendorfers, nor are their pianos. I suspect that is what this is. It is much later than 1840, and probably worthless.

I think it says "Johann Radda". Radda is a known family name in Austria, although not very common.

EDIT: Radda is also a family name in the Czech Republic. And googling for Johann Radda led me to a German genealogy page that quotes from old files from a Czech town that is now called Dvůr Králové nad Labem. These files say that a Johann Radda was married there in 1812. At that time the town and region was part of Austria. Could be a totally different Johann, but region and time would fit the age of the piano and the "worked for Bösendorfer at some time" hypothesis.

Link to that page

For a piano of this age, you would probably want to use a specialist wire rather than modern wire for the strings.

And why on earth do you want to paint the piano?

Unless you are knowledgeable about the restoration of historic instruments, your work on the piano is likely to detract from its value rather than add value.

Paint = refresh and polish current paint

It's damaged on certain parts and it needs new paint and parts that have paints need to be polished.

Inside I need to change strings and some keys are damaged. Also action pads.