Manteufel Piano Restoration & Soundboard Design

Steinway Centennial 1876:  No. 34906

Centennial rosewood concert grand Steinway, serial number 34906, completed in March 1876 with the Steinway foundry casting date on the plate of March 5, 1876, and a workman's signature on the side of key 88 and the date of  Marz '76. This traditionally is done at the completion of the action. The instrument has the extra heavy plate and the extra third section capo d'astro bar that were made under C.F. Theodore Steinway's supervision early in 1876 and later exhibited at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. Winning the gold medal, they became known as Centennials. This instrument, #34906, has the original purchase document and was purchased from the great grandson of the original owner. The instrument has the original ebony sharps and flawless, very thick (1/16 inch ) one piece ivories. The original action is meticulously restored with 20 pound hammers, made by Norbert Abel after the originals. The soundboard was duplicated by Manteufel with the same curvature of the glue press, grains per inch of spruce lumber, dimensions of ribs and tapering of the soundboard. This Centennial concert grand Steinway is the first fully modern piano and is actually super modern with string tensions greater than the current mass-production concert grand that went into production after 1877. The Centennial’s fundamental, sustain and power through all registers is unsurpassed.