I do inspections in NYC daily. I ran into a superintendent of one of the buildings I inspect and in his office was an old console piano. I asked him if he played, and he said, "No, it's been just sitting here for years.". I gave him my card and asked him to call me if he ever wanted to get rid of it. I told him I've been playing for over 30 years, and also want to get my son lessons. About a month later, he calls me and asks if I still want the piano. A few days later, I show up with a Ryder truck with a liftgate, we load it up and I take it home.
Backed into the driveway and unload it into the garage. My wife is excited about it.
At this point, I realized that I didn't even check the piano to see if it actually played at all. I didn't even know what kind it was. I assumed it was an old Baldwin or Yamaha.
I lift up the keyboard cover, lo and behold. A Steinway. My jaw dropped.
I immediately called the Steinway factory in Long Island City and gave them the serial # so they can tell me a bit about the piano.
1947 Steinway Mahogany 40" console. Steinway even sent a tuner out to my house for a pitch raise and a tune.
Anyway, I thought this was a cool story. Really a surprise. I saw the superintendent again a few weeks later and he asked me how the piano was. I said it's great, the family loves it, and my son is started to get interested in playing.
I wont ever tell him that he gave away a Steinway though. That would be cruel.