Duck, Son and Pinker Piano Serial Nos.

Year	Serial No.	Year	Serial No.
1904	11000	1938	30800
1906	12000	1940	32000
1908	13300	1945	34600
1910	14500	1950	36200
1912	16000	1952	36923
1914	17000	1954	37273
1916	18000	1956	37572
1918	18800	1958	37880
1920	19600	1960	38134
1922	20600	1965	38909
1924	22000	1970	40211
1926	23300	1972	40880
1928	25000	1974	41629
1930	26000	1976	42386
1932	27400	1978	43649
1934	28000	1980	44612
1936	29500	1981	45800

It is remarkable that data on piano serial numbers has survived so well for over a century. However, some inaccuracies are inevitable. These serial numbers are to be used only as a rough guide to a piano's age. An exact date does not make a material difference to a piano assessment. To be within 2 to 5 years is accurate enough to give an informed report on a piano.

Duck, Son & Pinker - A Short History

Duck Son & Pinker was founded in 1948. William Duck had his first Piano shop at 2 Pulteney Bridge but grew to occupy the whole of one side of the bridge. In 1878, William's son George became a partner in the firm and in 1884 Thomas Pinker joined the firm - thus the name: Duck, Son & Pinker. 

Thomas Pinker was originally employed as a piano tuner but being a man with a talent for business, he was a valued member of the firm. Out of hours he played the organ at a local church and was a member of the Bath Rowing Club.

There are many pianos that bear the Duck, Son & Pinker name and it is difficult to pinpoint where they were made. Some models were made by Skerrett, a better quality model was made by Brasted. Others, from the look of the insides, might have been made by Bentley. Their earlier, straight-strung pianos, may well have been made at the premises in Bath or in Bristol.

The decline of the piano side of the business reflected the widespread downturn in acoustic piano sales across the industry over many years. Today, it is hard to imagine any piano business tuning 5,000 pianos every month but at their height, D.S.&P. really did achieve an astonishing 65,000 piano tunings in a year! They had an army of tuners working from Bath down to Cornwall and into Wales. They had branches in Swindon, Swansea, Bristol, Gloucester and for a while, Weston Super Mare.

I remember tales from the old tuners when I was an apprentice: they were given a bicycle, put on a train to South Wales, and told to go up and down the valleys going door to door for piano tuning work! Those really were the golden days!

Duck son and Pinker was the classic local, music 'institution'. Entering the shop was like stepping into a bygone era. Vacating its traditional Pulteney Bridge premises during the 1980s, the business continued to survive up until 1 April 2011.

© Steve Burden