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1918 Hamilton
Player
Greg's Antique
Piano Collection
The Hamilton Piano Company was established in 1889 in Chicago.
Eventually, the Baldwin Piano and Organ Company of Cincinnati took over the company. Some
Hamiltons were built in Chicago, and some were built in Cincinnati. This piano was built
in Cincinnati. It has an emblem on the plate that reads: "House of Baldwin".
The player mechanism in this piano is of the Baldwin design. While many
player restorers avoid the Baldwin player, it is actually a very good design, and when
properly built, it will last a long time, and generally is very 'tight' meaning it loses
little vacuum.
This piano was given to me by it's previous owner. The piano is in
generally poor condition, but it has never been rebuilt, and all of the parts are still
there. The finish is oak, which tells me that it was a higher quality piano when new.
The restoration work on this instrument has begun. The player mechanism is
now completely rebuilt, and so is the pump. Below are some photos of the
rebuilt player. The next step is the refinishing of the piano case, which
I've also started. In one of the pictures below, you can see the partial
removal of the old finish.
Click on a picture below for a full size view:
    
    
   
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donation to me at
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