Astor & Horwood Square Piano

Make: Astor & Horwood Type: Mahogany-Brazilian Rosewood, Ivory, and Gilt Iron Place of Residence: Longford, Ireland An original, rare and sought after Astor & Horwood (1815-1824) Square piano, with serial number 5170. An identical model belonged to Alfredo Keil who, in 1890, used it to compose the patriotic march A Portuguesa, which was adopted as the Portuguese national anthem in 1911. There is a photograph of it in a museum in Lisbon, Portugal. Author: Rick Morais. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Work Completed in 2023 by O’Briain Pianos: Case sympathetically treated using oils and waxes. Removal of dust and dirt, but no stripping back the veneer or French polishing. Strings, dampers, and keys cleaned, dampers re-aligned, keys and dampers regulated, brass re-finished, two legs had new mounting blocks/screws installed as the originals were missing, soundboard cleaned and lightly oiled, decor fabric cleaned, hinges cleaned and oiled, castors wheels cleaned and oiled. Currently all the keys function and the piano requires specialist tuning. It is very much a museum piece to be admired for centuries to come but we do not recommended it for learning the piano on. It is simply to be admired and possibly used as a writing desk. Mechanically, it is perfectly intact, remarkable for its age and few exist in as good a shape. There is some wear to the hammer heads, but a normal amount. Some strings are missing, but you still have the notes in question on account of previous re-wiring. Square piano tuning is specialized and those who tune them are mainly in the UK and across Europe, but not in Ireland. NOT for learning on; a museum piece to be admired. www.obriainpianos.com