IMPORTANT SELF-PLAYING PIANO "LA VICTOIRE" STAMPED BLANCHE-PETIT & GOFFART

Important automatic self-playing piano called "Bastringue", from the beginning of the XXth century, working with an interchangeable cylinder stamped by the organ and piano makers "J.B BLANCHE-PETIT et R. GOFFART". The piano we offer is a model "La Victoire Orchestra" n° 3424, registered in 1919.

This magnificent carved wood veneer piano orchestra is engraved on each side with a fine gold border with floral and arabesque motifs in the Art Nouveau style of the early 20th century. In its upper part, three panes of glass reveal the soundboard and its strings as well as the orchestra of ancillary instruments composed of a snare drum, a triangle and a wooden stop with two hammers. On each side are integrated two handles worked in chased bronze. The model ends on curved feet in C-shaped scrolls. On the left side, there is a crank, a coin box, a push button and a dial allowing a choice of 6 different melodies. The body of the instrument has a glass in the lower part, revealing a cylinder made of poplar wood, filled with thousands of pimples. Each pin is meticulously planted by hand in the cylinder which acts as a score, allowing the 58 hammers to strike the strings and thus obtain the desired melody. This true artist's work gives our old orchestra piano a unique historical and artisanal character. Its curves and its Art Nouveau look will bring an exceptional cachet to your interior.

This fabulous entertainment instrument was born at the beginning of the 19th century and will be very popular in the 1880s until the dawn of the Second World War, especially thanks to the introduction of popular music in the musical repertoire of the cylinders. Among the musical pieces, mazurkas, polkas and waltzes. Originally, the piano is entirely mechanical and works like a music box, thanks to a crank that is turned endlessly triggering the rolling of the cylinder with pins. In 1902, the Italian manufacturer Ottina and Pellandi of Novara developed a spiral spring motor which, once wound by hand and activated by a coin, makes the piano play automatically. J.B BLANCHE & Goffart is a manufacturer of automatic pianos at the end of the 19th century, located in Valenciennes at n°1 and 4 Avenue du Quesnoy, whose instruments are described in numerous advertisements and whose different models such as "le Victoire" are registered at the Commercial Court of Paris.

Dimensions of the piano with crank: L: 144 cm; D: 64,5 cm; 149 cm (W.57 in x D.25,5 in x H.59 in)

Circa: 1919

 In good general condition. Mechanism works but needs to be adjusted in speed and tuned.

Ref: U3BPY9EYHX