An antique and rare piano that a man discovered in his family home and which could be worth up to $50,000 has wowed the internet.
On Friday, Nick Finn, who is from the greater Cincinnati area in Ohio, shared a picture of the musical instrument on Reddit where it has received thousands of upvotes and replies.
In the post, Finn wrote: "It seems the piano in my entry room of my childhood house is a rare Lindeman Piano. (Supposedly) three of these models are known... This isn't one of them."
William Lindeman established his piano firm in New York in 1836. One of the earliest piano manufacturers in the U.S., it was named Lindeman & Son when his son Henry Lindeman joined the company, and then Lindeman & Sons.
Building a huge variety of pianos throughout the 19th century, Lindeman & Sons enjoyed an excellent reputation for fine workmanship and quality.
One of the most famous pianos made during this time was called the Cycloid Grand—the model that Finn believes theirs is. Based on a square grand piano, it was designed with a round back and three legs. Unlike most square grand pianos, the back was designed so that it could sit in pride of place at the center of a room.
Specialists The Antique Piano Shop reports that the Cycloid Grand Paino was built in modest numbers and is exceedingly rare today.
"My family got it from my grandmother about 21 years ago, and it's been in the entryway of my parent's house for that time," Finn told Newsweek. "How my grandmother got a hold of it, I have no idea. I looked into it the other day and I noticed that it is the same model as the other three-legged pianos made by Lindeman."
While Finn is still awaiting full confirmation and appraisal, the picture of the unusual instrument raised interest online.
"That's bonkers, what a beauty," said one commenter, while another Redditor wrote: "I love wildly rare items being used in random homes like ordinary items instead of being posed on some museum platform or rich person's house."
Other commenters urged Finn to have the piano properly checked over and sell it on.
"Pay day," said one reply, while another Redditor wrote: "Sell, baby, sell!"
"When restored, I've seen it worth $40-50k," said Finn. "But, seeing that it hasn't had anything done to it, it is all original, so who knows the worth of it in its current state."
Finn was inspired to share the picture and story online to see if he could gain any insight from internet users on the piano.
"I shared the story to try to gather more information faster than I could alone," said Finn. "As for the reactions, most people were shocked to see one and recommended getting looked at by a professional.
"However, I did post it on Reddit, so many joke responses were there too, so a few good laughs."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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