Following the query about Steck piano numbers recently, I've dug out
my list of information collected a few years back on pianos owned by
members of the Player Piano Group.

The numbers generally quoted for Steck pianos are highly misleading,
at least for the European production.  They clearly make no sense, as
Patrick Boeckstijns highlighted in 001220 MMDigest.  These numbers do
not allow for the fact that these pianos were made in three different
countries using three different sets of numbers.

A potted history: The Aeolian Company purchased George Steck in the
USA in January 1905, and Ernst Munck, of Gotha in Germany, in mid 1905
(contract registered 6 July 1905).  For some unknown reason the German
product was rebadged 'Steck', although the pianos remained products of
Ernst Munck (Ernst Munck junior stayed in charge at the factory until
1923 when he apparently moved to Aeolian headquarters in the USA).

Around 1921 intensive production of Steck pianos commenced in London
at Aeolian's factory in Hayes, using case designs identical to the
Gotha instruments although the pianos inside them were distinctly
poorer.  In 1924 the Gotha factory was sold to Hupfeld, who moved over
to producing pianos to their own design, until they went out of business
themselves in 1927 when the factory was shut.  The building is still
there, nicely restored as shops and flats.

We therefore have three different factories: America, Germany [Gotha]
and England [Hayes].  The numbers of the instruments produced in
Germany and England can be deduced from the following individual
instruments:

  32472 - Earliest identified Steck player piano, stack under keys. 1906?
  36410 - Extremely early 65/88 player grand, most likely age early 1909.
  48000 - 1911 (so its owner claimed)
  55000 - circa WW1, whether start or end is hard to say.
  55761 - Latest Gotha instrument located, probably sold post WW1.

  70535 - Early Hayes instrument (?)
  71103 - Last number identified in this series

 100371 - Hayes instrument, Inspection date 1922.
 103917 - Model 9H, sold new 19th July 1926, =L= 195.
 104429 - Sold new 22nd July 1927
 104573 - Model H15. Inspection date 1928.
 104660 - Model H15. Inspection date 1928.
 104774 - Model AH. Inspection date 1927.
 104815 - Model H15. Inspection date 1929.
 104905 - Model H15. Inspection date 1930.
 120482 - Model H15. Stack has all valves in top tier of stack. 1930s.

This suggests that Gotha instrument numbers run from perhaps 30000 to
(say) 56000 or so, 1905 to 1923 (these do line up with the published
figures in the earlier years).  Some (early) Hayes instruments are in
the 70000 series, although more research needs to be done to see how
these fit with the other Hayes production.  The main Hayes production
started at number 100000 some time in 1921.  Whether numbers were
contiguous or allocated in blocks to different factories and Aeolian
brands I don't know.

I hope this helps put a real date on all those Hayes instruments whose
owners think they were made in 1930.

Julian Dyer