Piano 56

A piano from Torquay, captured in the church at Staverton, across the water from Dartington, a visit to be noticed properly in due course. Or to be more precise from A. J. Blackler of 62 Union Street, Torquay: a full trichord with iron frame and check action.

Curiously, the best that Bing can do is 'A. J. Blackler Ltd, 141 Newton Road, Official Peugeot Dealer for Torquay. Serving Torquay, Paignton, Brixham, Newton Abbot, Dartmouth, Totnes and surrounding areas' at a Peugeot website. Perhaps the Blacklers were a big family or, alternatively, Blackler is a common family name in the west country. While Google turns up a Facebook page where I read that: 'The family owned Peugeot Main Dealers established in 1895 and based at Newton Abbot and Torquay offering the highest level of Customer Standards. Supplying New & Used Car's to the South Devon. We also offer full Workshop facilities with fully stocked Parts Departments. Make the right choice with your next car purchase and choose A J Blackler'. 

Google also turns up a curious variety of material, all vaguely connected, including this list of members of the British National Party from WikiLeaks, including full addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses. A bit uneasy about such stuff being online, be the British National Party ever so unpleasant. I have not checked, but I assume that there is a Blackler on the list.

But I draw a blank as far as Blackler pianos are concerned. One can only suppose an early twentieth century piano dealer or department store which bought pianos in from somewhere and added their sticker, in a suitably German looking script, Germany being the market leaders of the time.

However, according to gmaps, this part of Union Street is now a bit tatty, with this particular number occupied by Vision Express. So perhaps once rather grander, with this particular premises occupied by a piano shop. Scarcely a department store.

PS 1: there are quite a lot of Union Streets dotted about the land. Presumably all celebrating the heady day of union with Scotland in 1707. I wonder if they have them in Scotland? 

PS 2: I feel sure that at some point I posted a picture of the Act of Union, but search this morning fails to find it. Failure of search or failure of memory?

PS 3: but search which did turn up reference 2. Thoughts on the Ukraine from 2015, which stand the test of time fairly well.

PS 4: 09:58: just couldn't let it go and was reduced to searching for the word 'latin'. In a few minutes this turned up the relevant post at reference 3, a post which does not include any of the words I had been trying, that is to say '1707',  'act', 'union' or 'scotland'. I then fed the image back into Google image search which found the image somewhere on the Guardian website and which made the connection to the Act of Union. And to the National which tells me that: '... But the Scottish nobility ignored the wishes of the Scottish people, succumbed to the bribery of the English and signed the Treaty. Lord Belhaven said of it, “Good God! What is this, an entire surrender”. Lockhart of Carnwath said: “The Union was crammed down Scotland’s throat”. It seems that in the intervening years the Westminster Government has continued to cram its wishes down Scotland’s throat...'. It is still not altogether clear exactly what this particular document is - but that, I can leave for another day.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/05/piano-55.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv2.blogspot.com/2015/01/pusings.html.

Reference 3: https://psmv2.blogspot.com/2015/11/free-will-2.html.

Group search key: pianosk.