On Thu, 28 Jan 2021 23:21:39 +0000, wrote:

On 28/01/2021 18:46, Graham Harrison wrote:
On Thu, 28 Jan 2021 16:29:44 +0000, wrote:

Hmmm, a badly structured question. Hopefully it makes more sense now.

On 28/01/2021 12:12, wrote:
A bit of a long-shot but ... is there anyone out there who has restored,
is restoring, or has worked on a 19th century square piano?

No, but a couple of thoughts:

1) Try contacting local piano tuners; they might know someone. After
all they might have been asked to tune one.
2) If you have a musical museum (even if it's not piano specific)
nearby they might have restored a square piano and be able to offer
advice or point you at someone.
3) I've come across square/straight strung pianos in National Trust
(and other) properties and they have all sorts of experts on call.
4) This is a bit more of a long shot but I wonder if one of the music
colleges (Guildhall, Royal Academy, Royal College in London for
instance) might be able to help?

Thanks, but I'm restoring one myself and wondered if there was anyone
else here to (ahem) exchange notes with. I'm aware of several
professional restorers but that's not what I'm looking for.

I think you're missing a possibility. For instance, a music school
might have a student doing a PhD who would be interested in helping as
part of a research project. The experts that might exist as contacts
of the National Trust need not be professional piano restorers.
There's a place called the Musical museum in Brentford. It's full of
mechanical pianos, orchestrions, fiddles and the like. The man who
founded it, Frank Merrick, wasn't a musician he was an electrical
engineer; it was the innards of the machines that fascinated him.

Serendipity/coincidence happens all the time but you have to be open
to it. For instance, my father was a concert pianist. Towards the end
of WW2 he got a letter asking for advice on composition.
Correspondance ensued and after the war dad suggested the young man
enter one of the London music schools which he did. In the late 50s
dad had lunch with someone from EMI who, out of the blue, asked if dad
knew anyone who might be interested in a job. The young man was
suggested amd he got the job. Some years later a tape appeared on
desks at EMI and the young man picked it up. The band was the Beatles
and the man was George Martin. Who would have thought a concert
pianist who have a (several times removed) hand in the launch of a pop
band?!

The problem with a straight strung/square piano is that people
interested in them, who might be able to help you, aren't easy to spot
and. I suspect, aren't professionals. It may well be that contacting a
music school (e.g.) won't put you in touch with someone directly but
one of the tutors may know an ex-pupil or a friend who can assist.

There are facebook pages, discussion groups and bulletin boards
devoted to the piano.