Conover

Conover 99

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7" Ebony Grand - Serial #29364 - 1920

What a beautiful piano, both in sound and sight. This Conover 99 was restored by RPI in 2017, and was lovingly cared for and maintained by a piano technician and piano teacher couple. This piano is much loved and has a wonderfully balanced sound with a full bass and melodic treble. Restoration included refinishing, new soundboard, bridges, strings, pinblock, hammers, action parts, etc.

Conover built five different grand piano models during the early 20th Century; one was the Model 99 which you see here. At 7 feet, it is based on the Mason and Hamlin BB scale, with the plate modified to add the Conover name. The model 99 also features a thick rim with a single steel bar across the rim to prevent the bulge that many grands would incur (even Steinway pianos) on the long side of the rim.

This piano was originally at a church before being acquired by a piano technician and eventually completely restored by Reeder Pianos.

$62,800.00
SKU CONOVER
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A matching bench is included. This piano has been so well maintained that very little reconditioning was needed. It will be voiced to your preference.

We back our work with a 2-year mechanical warranty.

Conover Piano History

The Conover Piano Company was established in 1883 by brothers J. Frank and George Conover. Originally located in Kansas City, Missouri, by 1890, both brothers had relocated to Chicago to take advantage of the booming piano manufacturing industry there. In the 1890's, the company consolidated with the Cable Piano Company of Chicago and acquired the Schiller Piano Company.

In 1904, The Conover Cable Company bailed The Mason & Hamlin Piano Company out of bankruptcy for $100,000. As a part of the deal, the Conover-Cable Company obtained the Mason and Hamlin dealerships and had access to some of the designs of Richard Gertz of Mason and Hamlin.

Conover Cable Co. had two other factories, one in Oregon, Illinois which building is still standing and another in St. Charles, Illinois which has since been torn down. J. Frank Conover who originally studied piano making under Albert Weber of Weber piano fame, lived on the south side of Chicago on Prairie Avenue in the neighborhood of the Big Whigs of the era, as George Pullman, Marshall Field, and many years later Barack Obama. Conover died in 1918 and is buried in Kansas City, Mo.

Richard Gertz was the original scale designer of the Mason & Hamlin tension resonator pianos. In his home in Germany, Richard Wagner was a regular visitor, a friend of his father. He eventually became president of Mason & Hamlin passing away after moving back to Germany around 1920.

Conover/Cable was absorbed into the giant Aeolian Corporation in the 1930s, and the Conover brand name was built well into the mid 20th Century. Even their spinets from the 1930s and 1940's had a high-quality construction and many are still in existence.

More information from our website Conover 99

Additional fees may be added to the delivery of acoustic pianos if there are flights of stairs, steep inclines, tight corners or the use of a crane is required.

Warranty

We guarantee our work with a 2-year mechanical warranty.
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