I recently bought a rebuilt Henry F Miller baby grand. I'm trying to identify the source of the plate since it carries no discernible manufacturer's imprint. Here's a photo of the only markings molded into it.

The piano's serial number is 16868 indicating it was built in 1885???

The rebuild was by K. Detrich in 1993.
Here's a number painted on the plate:
Here's a photo of the piano:

And here's a look at the entire plate:
I've owned many pianos through the years but never one that was such a mystery.
Any and all help appreciated.

Henry

Plates cannot be changed from one piano to another, so you can be sure this plate was originally in this piano.

Now, whether it was originally a Henry F. Miller piano is not something I can be sure of. I've worked on a few of them, but can't remember the details.

The 2 different numbers is a bit strange. You might try to look up the rebuilder and see if he can look up his records, and tell you where that serial number on the plate came from.

I'm glad to hear about the non interchangeability. I've never seen a plate without the manufacturer's name before. I wanted to speak to the rebuilder, a very highly respected fellow here in the NY area, but unfortunately he died about three months ago.

Hello Henry,

That piano was not built in 1885. I can tell that by the pictures. The true serial number is generally put in the area near the tuning pins. You've provided the number 157296. I believe this is more likely the serial number of the piano.

I cannot now look up this instrument, but I would guess that it was built after the 1930's.

Any good independent technician may tell you more upon examination. This does not seem to be a mystery to me.

I know your area, I think. As a little boy, I remember going to Palisades Park. My favorite ride was the Batman Slide. (I was 3 or 4 at the time).

May I suggest Linda or Tom Castronovo to help? They live in your area and can be gotten in touch with through their website - www.njtune.com.

Good luck,

Also, as was already stated, this plate belongs to this piano.