The Lester Piano Company of Philadelphia was a major contributor to the American piano industry during the Golden Age of piano building. Established in 1888, The Lester Piano Company built a full line of pianos for decades under several different names including The Lester Piano Company, Leonard & Company, Alden, Bellaire, Channing, Gramer, Lawrence, Regent, Schilling & Sons and Schubert. The Lester Piano Company was established in 1888 and made pianos for seventy years. The company is famous for the Lester and Betsy Ross names. Other names associated with Lester are Cable & Sons, Channing, Gounod, Lawrence, Leonard & Company, Rengent Schilling, Schubert and Alden. The serial number is 153503 and I believe it was made sometime in the 1940's although I cannot find a Lester grand serial number listing anywhere. Can anyone tie this number to a definitive date? An acquaintance is trying to get rid of this piano and has offered it to us to fix up.

Information about the American musical instrument manufacturer

The Lester Piano Company was established in 1888 in Lester, Pennsylvania.

Brief history and description

The Lester Piano Company was a hallmark of the American piano industry during what is now referred to as the Golden Age of piano building. During the last quarter of the nineteenth century up until the early 1930s, pianos become increasingly commonplace in American homes.

Lester built a range of pianos under several name brands, including Lawrence, Gounod, Channing, Alden, Bellaire, Schubert and Leonard. The company insisted that every Lester piano was built to tolerate the same musicality and at its height, the Lester grand piano was the preferred choice for auditoriums, concert halls, conservatories and schools and homes alike.

Lester’s earliest models, those produced before the 1930s, had a reputation of being of exceptional build quality and produced a full toned and sweet sound. Even in the high register, Lester pianos were noted for not producing a tin-like sound which distinguished them from their cheaper counterparts. Accordingly, many famous pianists and American musicians, such as Alice Nielsen and Franz Kneisel used Lester pianos.

The most famous of all the Lester Piano Company’s products is unquestionably their Betsy Ross spinet, a small upright piano that was manufactured around the 1930s. The huge success of this piano is often credited as saving the Lester Piano Company from financial bankruptcy during the Great Depression, which was a time when the majority of other American piano manufacturers were forced to close.

After over eight decades, the Lester Piano Company eventually closed shop in 1960.

Collectors Guide

The Lester Piano Company has the distinction of producing some of the leading pianos during the Golden Age of piano making in America. However, they paled in comparison with America’s leading piano makers of that time, such as Steinway & Sons and Chickering & Sons. Nonetheless, Lester pianos were consistently constructed to a high standard and as a result, are usually reliable examples for antique piano restoration.

The most desirable models of Lester pianos are their grand piano range. The Louis XV was developed during the 1920s and was made of burled walnut. A fully restored example, according to Digitalpianokeyboardsreview.com, can fetch up to $25,000.

Other antique grand pianos sought after by collectors are the Lester Victorian and the Lester Mahogany. Built from the 1930s and constructed in mahogany, examples of these pianos have been sold by Antiquepianoshop.com from $11,000 to $20,000.

Lester pianos for sale are more likely to be found at online antique piano dealerships and are usually fully restored. Unrestored pianos can be sold for as little as a few hundred dollars, however, conditions can vary significantly and the likelihood that these pianos still function are extremely rare.

Notable Sales

A 1922 Lester Mahogany baby grand piano was recently sold on Antique Piano Shop for $15,000. Restored to its original condition, the piano is made of real mahogany wood and was built during the height of the Lester Company’s production era.

A 1900 Lester Victorian upright piano, made in 1900, was sold on Antique Piano Shop for $11,000. Constructed from walnut, the piano was also equipped with a matching stool.

Of the pianos made these days, which is the best?

Over-all, the answer is 'Yamaha' (Yamaha Website). Quality for the price, it can't be beat. I have tuned hundreds of pianos and the tone quality of a Yamaha grand is unsurpassed. Next is Kawai, Young Chang, maybe Samick (because of warranty), and then Baldwin (top of the line only). Petrof is a very good piano, but prices have gone very high in recent years. They are not cheap. Then of course Steinway. The legend of pianos is the Bösendorfer. If you can afford one.
Now, before you through away your old Winter, or some other generic piano, cheer up-- if you've been tuning the piano faithfully, and if it hasn't been stored in the barn, you probably have a pretty acceptable instrument anyway.
So go on home, call a tuner who has a positive attitude, and ask him to bring your old relic back as best he can. You will be surprised what can be done. If the tuner tells you to haul it to the dump, call or email me. I will try to help you find a fellow with a better attitude.

HERE IS A LIST OF PIANOS ACCORDING TO QUALITY
You need to understand that this list does not take into account the condition or care the piano has had over the years.

Exceptional quality

Christifori
Steinway & Sons
Boston
Grotrian-Steinweg
Bosendorfer
Bluthner
Bechstein
Yamaha
Erard
Falcone
Mason & Hamlin
Baldwin
Knabe
Gaveau
Chickering
Kurtzmann
Sohmer
Schimmel
Petrof

Better than average

Kawai
Samick
Feurich
Bauer
Acrosonic by Baldwin
Pearl River
Knight of the UK
Story & Clark
Broadwood
Krakauer
Behr
Brinkerhoff
Ibach
Labrousse
Broadman
George Steck
Sohmer
Schiller
Hardman
Hamilton
Haddorff
Mehler
Ivers and Pond
Henry Miller
Janssen
Weber
Playel
Brambach
Everett
Jesse French
Wegman
J & C Fischer

Useful though not exceptional

Weaver
Winter Musett
Wurlitzer
Hobart M. Cable
Lester
Gulbransen
Samick
Cornish
Wissner
Mehlin & Son
Kranich & Bach
Hackley
Laughead
Ackerman
Collard
Price and Teeple
Poole
Kimball
Hinze
Hall
Stetson
Stieff
Cable-Nelson
Kohler & Campbell
Huntington
Cable
Cable Nelson
Conover
Betsy Ross

Low Quality

Aeolian-
This company bought defunct piano companies, some in the above lists, and used the names on their pianos to hide their low quality pianos. Beware-- Check a piano atlas to see if Aeolian bought the piano name of something you are considering buying.

Lester Piano Company

Winter- Not Musette
Grinnell
Conn
Lowrey
'Grand' ( Brand name on cheap upright company )
Any piano made in Utah
Any Bird Cage Action piano ( Exception- German )
Any piano with an aluminum harp (plate)
Shannon
Chancellor-- From Ireland-- Operated by hot air-- True!

Lester Grand Piano For Sale