Piano Bench

I recently came into possession of a rather old piano bench. Whether or not it is an antique, I do not know, however, inside of the bench, there is a blue and gold sticker that says, 'The Manual Arts Furniture Company.' It's a rather plain looking bench, but VERY sturdy, and is put together with strong metal brackets at each of the four corners. The brackets themselves are somewhat oxidized, leading me to believe that the bench is most likely, very old. I looked for a serial number or some other distinguishing mark, but there are none. It would be interesting to track down the Manual Arts Furniture Company, if they are still in business, and see if they could give me a general idea, but that's probably an impossibility...

Mafco went out of business several years ago. Regards, Ed Foote RPT http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html Well-tempered CD's at Gasparo.com. GSCD #332, 'Beethoven In the Temperaments' GSCD #344 . 'Six Degrees of Tonality' Caution, these CD's contain pure intervals and extensive liner notes!

Oh well... Anyway, it's a very good bench, and I've restored the finish on it. I'm very pleased with its quality.

All The Best,

HI Frank

The people you acquired the bench from might have some answers about its history. Also, metal doesnt need to be of antique age to oxidize - damp will do the trick. If you wanted to track down the manufacturer, try asking at a really good furniture store in your area for some leads, or have a look at some books on the subject at a library. Cheers,

Great ideas, Cathy. Thank you!