The Colt Clavier Collection of Historically Important Keyboard Instruments is being sold at a unique piano auction in June (2018). The scope of this sale is quite staggering.
The collection is currently located in Bethersden, Kent, England. It was started by Charles F. Colt, in 1944.
The Colt family business was originally the manufacture of high quality poultry houses. All the rage in the early twentieth century! The company was founded in 1919. Such was the quality of their structures that they soon progressed to timber framed houses, and this became a highly desirable product. The company prospered, and continues to this day.
The success of the business enabled Colt to indulge his special interest — collecting historic instruments, mostly pianos, from around the world. These he housed in a purpose built showroom on the Colt Homes estate. All the on-site show homes also each housed an instrument from the collection.
Charles Colt died in 1985, and the Colt Clavier Collection Trust, under the auspices of his widow [Lore] Barbara, was established to manage the collection. Barbara Colt subsequently died in 2016, at the age of over 100, and at that point the executors of her estate decided that the collection should be sold.
The 2017 Piano Auction
Five instruments from the collection were auctioned in April 2017 (detailed here with the realised and the estimated sale prices).
- Thomas Tomkison (c1821) grand piano. £62,000 (est. £30,000-£50,000)
- Conrad Graf (c1836) Viennese grand piano. £25,000 (est. £30,000-£40,000)
- Joseph Kirkman (c1800) double manual harpsichord. £20,000 (est. £20,000-£30,000)
- Mathaeus Hielmann (c1780) early Viennese grand piano. £48,000 (est. £30,000-£50,000)
- A late 18th century clavichord in the manner of the Lindholm family. £11,500 (est. £15,000-£20,000).
These instruments were considered to have the the greatest historical merit. The story of the Tomkison grand piano was featured in an article published here last year.
The upcoming piano auction will include the remainder of the instruments. But it is the sheer size and quality of the collection that is remarkable. There are 187 lots of which over 100 are pianos and 9 are harpsichords. There are 46 grand pianos, 31 square pianos, 18 uprights (including upright grands), and a handful of other types of piano (console, pianino, piccolo, cottage, Albion, etc). Clavichords, spinets, virginals and a miscellany of other musical antiquities and accessories make up the numbers.
The auctioneers estimate that the Shudi & Broadwood double manual harpsichord (1790) will fetch the most (£40,000-£60,000), with the School of Stein grand piano (1785), and the Haschka grand piano (1815) both expected to make around £45,000. For those with more modest budget, you could possibly pick up an interesting Longman & Broderip square piano (1785) for around £500.
Piano Auction Details
The auction will take place on June 7th, 2018 at Canterbury Auction Galleries, 40 Station Road West, Canterbury, CT2 8AN, UK.
Viewing is on 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th June at The Colt Hall, Pluckley Road, Bethersden, Ashford, TN26 3DD, UK. Entry to view (2 persons) is by catalogue, price £10.00.
The auction is held in conjunction with Piano Auctions Ltd.
Colt Clavier Collection: Auction items listed in date order
| A double-manual harpsichord by Mahoon, London | 1738 |
| A bentside spinet by Mahoon, London | circa 1740 |
| A single-manual harpsichord by Kirckman, London | 1750 |
| A square piano by Ganer, London | 1779 |
| A 'lying harp' piano possibly by Johann Matthäus Schmahl | circa 1780 |
| A square piano by Simpson, London | circa 1780 |
| A single-manual harpsichord by Kirckman, London | 1781 |
| A spinet shaped transverse grand piano by Crang Hancock, London | 1782 |
| A portable square piano by Verel, London | 1783 |
| A square piano by Broadwood, London | 1784 |
| A Claviorganum by Merlin, London | 1784 |
| An anonymous Clavecin Royal, Germany | circa 1785 |
| A square piano by Longman & Broderip, London | circa 1785 |
| An anonymous grand piano now a harpsichord | circa 1785 |
| A grand piano, school of Stein, probably south German | circa 1785 |
| A grand piano by Broadwood, London | 1787 |
| A square piano by Broadwood, London | 1787 |
| A square piano by Broadwood, London | 1788 |
| A square piano by Haxby, York | 1789 |
| A square piano by Ganer, London | circa 1790 |
| A double-manual harpsichord by Shudi & Broadwood, London | 1790 |
| A grand piano by Broadwood, London | 1794 |
| A square piano by Longman and Broderip, London | 1796 |
| A grand piano by Broadwood. London | 1797 |
| A late 18th, or early 19th century style grand piano after Könnicke | |
| A late 18th, or early 19th century style grand piano after Walter by Marfleet, Witney | |
| A grand piano by Broadwood, London | 1800 |
| A square piano by Erard, Paris | 1804 |
| A square piano by Rolfe, London | circa 1805 |
| A small organ by Longman, London | circa 1805 |
| A square piano by Thomas Tomkison, London | circa 1805 |
| A grand piano by M. A. Stein, Vienna | circa 1805 |
| A grand piano by Broadwood, London | 1806 |
| A grand piano by Thomas Tomkison, London | circa 1807 |
| A square piano by Jones, London | circa 1807 |
| A grand piano by Broadwood, London | 1808 |
| An upright grand piano by Clementi, London | circa 1809 |
| A grand piano by Broadwood. London | circa 1810 |
| A grand piano by Heilman, Mainz | circa 1810 |
| A small cabinet piano by Clementi, London | circa 1810 |
| An upright grand piano by Clementi, London | circa 1810 |
| A grand piano by Clementi, London | circa 1812 |
| An upright square piano by Clementi, London | circa 1812 |
| A square piano by Broadwood, London | circa 1812 |
| A square piano by Broadwood, London | circa 1813 |
| A grand piano by Broadwood, London | 1814 |
| A grand piano by Haschka, Vienna | circa 1815 |
| A grand piano by Louis Dulcken, Munich | circa 1816 |
| A grand piano by Erard, Paris | 1818 |
| A grand piano by Broadwood, London | 1819 |
| A grand piano by Broadwood, London | circa 1819 |
| A grand piano by Broadwood, London | 1819 |
| A square piano by Rolfe, London | circa 1820 |
| A Square piano by Broadwood, London | 1820 |
| An anonymous 'giraffe' upright piano, probably Vienna | circa 1820 |
| A square piano by Frey, Paris | 1820 |
| An upright grand piano by Stodart, London | circa 1820 |
| A grand piano by Kirkman, London | circa 1820 |
| A square piano by Clementi, London | circa 1821 |
| A grand piano by Broadwood, London | 1821 |
| An upright 'cottage' piano by Broadwood, London | 1821 |
| A square piano by Clementi, London | 1823 |
| A Square piano by Broadwood, London | circa 1824 |
| A grand piano by Mott, London | 1824 |
| A grand piano by Broadwood, London | 1824 |
| A square piano attributed to Doerner, Stuttgart | circa 1825 |
| An upright combined barrel piano by Henderson, London | circa 1825 |
| An upright piano by Wornum, London | circa 1825 |
| A grand piano by Haschka, Vienna | circa 1825 |
| A square piano by Mott, London | circa 1825 |
| A square piano by Doerner, Stuttgart | circa 1825 |
| A square piano by Rädecker & Lunau, Lübeck | circa 1825 |
| A square piano by Broadwood, London | 1825 |
| A grand piano by Broadwood, London | circa 1827 |
| A grand piano by Tischner, St. Petersburg | circa 1828 |
| An upright Lyraflügel by Schleip, Berlin | circa 1828 |
| A grand piano by Pleyel, Paris | circa 1829 |
| A 'Piccolo' upright piano by Wornum, London | circa 1830 |
| A grand piano by Götting, Vienna | circa 1830 |
| A square piano by Pape, Paris | 1834 |
| An upright grand piano by Wornum, London | circa 1835 |
| A 'Pianino' upright piano by Pleyel, Paris | circa 1835 |
| A grand piano by Graf, Vienna | circa 1835 |
| A grand piano by Schmidt, Pressburg (now Bratislava) | circa 1835 |
| A 'Pocket' grand piano by Robert Wornum, London | circa 1837 |
| A square piano by Pleyel, Paris | 1838 |
| An 'Imperial Grand Piano by Robert Wornum, London | circa 1838 |
| A console piano by Pape, Paris | 1840 |
| An upright 'Dog Kennel' piano by Lichtenthal, Brussels | circa 1840 |
| An upright piano by Butcher, London | circa 1840 |
| A 'Pocket' grand piano by Robert Wornum, London | circa 1841 |
| An 'Albion' piano by Wornum, London | circa 1845 |
| An 'Albion' piano by Wornum, London | circa 1845 |
| A grand piano by Broadwood, London | 1846 |
| A grand piano by Schneider, Vienna | circa 1851 |
| A grand piano by Wornum, London | circa 1852 |
| A grand piano by Bord, Paris | circa 1855 |
| A grand piano by Bösendorfer, Vienna | circa 1864 |
| An upright piano by Erard, Paris | 1864 |
| An upright piano by Pleyel, Paris | 1864 |
| A grand piano by Erard, London | circa 1868 |
| A square piano by Steinway, New York | circa 1870 |
| A grand piano by Chickering, Boston | circa 1870 |
| A 'barless' grand piano by Broadwood, London | 1889 |
| An upright piano by Collard Moutrie, London | circa 1890 |
| A Dulcitone by Machell, Glasgow | circa |
| A double-manual harpsichord by Gaveau, Paris | 1912 |
| A double-manual harpsichord by Tull, London | circa 1935 |
| A reproduction 18th century style grand piano after Louis Dulcken | |
| A model 12 clavichord by Sperrhake, Passau | 1964 |
| A Triangular spinet by Sperrhake, Passau | circa 1966 |
| A virginals by William Foster, Lucca | circa 1970 |
| A modern Italian style harpsichord | 1973 |
| A spinet-style 'Acrosonic' upright piano by Baldwin | circa 1980 |
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