Petrof Pianos

Antonin Petrof studied the art of piano making with his uncle, Jan Heitzmann in Vienna. Returning to Bohemia in 1864 established the Petrof Piano Company and began building pianos. The following year his father’s joinery behind the Cathedral of Svaty Duch was repurposed to make it more suited to building pianos.

In 1874 Petrof pianos moved to larger facilities for manufacturing operations, eventually producing their own keyboards and actions. Business was steadily gathering momentum so that in 1894, they began exporting their pianos abroad, and were able to set up a service centre and warehouse in Vienna.  

Antonín Petrof was appointed in 1899 to be the court piano maker of Austria-Hungary. The growth of the business continue over the next 20 years so that Petrof expanded their foreign sales - selling to Japan, China, Australia and South America.

1928, Petrof together with the American company Steinway opened a subsidiary in London. When Petrof pianos won the gold medal at the World Exhibition 1934 in Brussels, the Petrof factory employed about 400 people. 

The 100,000th Petrof piano was produced in 1963 and has their research centre for continued scientific development. After a period of state ownership the company was privatised in 1998 and was returned to family control in 2001. 

Petrof Serial Nos.

Directory of Piano Makers

©Steve Burden

Welmar Serial Nos.

 

Year	Serial No.	Year	Serial No.
1925	13000	1970	70000
1930	16500	1972	72000
1935	20000	1974	74000
1938	21600	1976	76000
1940	23500	1978	78000
1946	46000	1980	80000
1948	48000	1982	82000
1950	50000	1984	84000
1952	52000	1986	86000
1954	54000	1988	107140
1956	56000	1990	107935
1958	58000	1992	108420
1960	60000	1994	109205
1962	62000	1996	109990
1964	64000	1998	110590
1966	66000	2000	110940
1968	68000	2002	111240

These serial numbers can be used only as a reference point.
An Exact date does not make a material difference to an assessment of a piano - a year or so out 120 years ago really is neither here more there.

The idea that 100% accuracy for all piano makers over a century ago is an interesting thought - but considering that all record keeping would be hand-written and kept in large ledger books, inaccuracies are likely. These records will be as reliable as the clerks whose job it was to keep them. The digital age of barcodes and scanned labels was still in the realm of science fiction. So we have to be content with our best guess numbers.

Back to the Piano Atlas

Welmar: Short History

Ivers & Pond

William H Ivers started making pianos in 1872 and clearly his pianos were substantial enough to earn a reputation for robust reliability. With Handel Pond the Ivers & Pond Piano Company was established in 1880 and based in Boston, Massachusetts while the factory was at Cambridgeport.

Known for their enviable build quality Ivers & Pond pianos were the choice of many colleges and schools and of course the private buyers who loved them for the elaborately striking and luxuriant casework. 

The insides of the pianos were no less well put together - said to be the equal in design and excellence of manufacture of any of the many big makers in America at the time. 

Their range of pianos went from baby grands up to the concert grand, Uprights of course and even player pianos. Universally respected and loved for their pleasing tone quality.

Ivers & Pond were consolidated into the Aeolian-American Corporation. The Ivers & Pond pianos continued to be made by Aeolian until the 1980s

The Aeolian Corporation was established by William Tremaine in 1887. He manufactured mechanical self-playing organs, later becoming the Aeolian Company sometime after 1895. Aeolian became a vast enterprise on the popularity of the player piano.   

Aeolian controlled many piano companies and was manufacturing pianos and organs in factories across America and in Europe. In 1932 it merged with the American Piano Corporation. Up until closing in 1985, Aeolian manufactured pianos using names from the many piano companies they controlled.

Ivers & Pond Serial Nos.

Piano Maker Directory

©Steve Burden