Eshelby Pianos

(Piano Dealers Established in 1886)

The Eshelby family has been involved in the piano forte trade for five generations…

Mr Edwin Eshelby (born Upton St. Leonards, Gloucester , England , 13 th February 1852; died 1912) began his apprenticeship at the then well-established firm of Hale and Co in 1865. Five years later, aged eighteen, he undertook the voyage to New York , America , where - according to an article from the Music Trade Review - on his second day on the continent he applied for work as a tuner at the firm of Steinway and Sons. This request was granted on his third day of his stay. He built up a good reputation at the firm until in 1877, he returned to his homeland, where he continued his work with Steinways . Ten years later, he was appointed the manager of the London House of Steinway and Sons , Lower Seymour Street West .

Edwin's son, George Washington Eshelby (born New York State , North America , 9 October 1877; died 1 June 1922) followed in his father's footsteps as a travelling representative of the firm. On his father's death, he too became manager of Steinway and Sons for Great Britain and her colonies: Spain , France , other European countries and the orient.

Continuing the family tradition, George Washington's son, Edwin Aslett Eshelby (born St. Marylebone, London 2 June 1908; died 1981) too became a travelling representative for the firm, later being based at the Hamburg factory in Germany, where he remained for a period of fifteen years. In 1939, E. A. Eshelby relocated to South Africa with his wife, Rosina ( née Schuster Schneider, born Aitenmarle, Munich, Germany, 3 March 1913), where he was based in Johannesburg as a concert tuner for Polliacks . He went on to establish Eshelby Pianos several years later, based in his house garage in African Street , Orchards, Johannesburg . E. A. Eshelby expanded his business to country areas from Witbank all the way down to Komatipoort and also Mocambique.

“ Eshelby and Sons ” evolved as the new name for the business when E. A. Eshelby's sons William (Billy) Alois Eshelby (born Hamburg , Germany , 18 July 1938) and - about two years later - James (Jimmy) George Eshelby (born Johannesburg , 21 October 1940) joined their father's company at the age of sixteen. The business moved to Murray Street in Waverly, Johannesburg , then relocated again to workshop and showroom in Orange Grove. It was in Orange Grove that the business really became very well known.

W. A. Eshelby went to work for Smith and Hall Pianos in Salisbury , Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe ) in the early 1960s. He had an unfortunate serious motorcycle accident which impelled J. G. Eshelby's holiday in Rhodesia to change to him working for Smith and Hall Pianos whilst W. A. Eshelby returned to his family to recover from the accident.

W. A. Eshelby and J. G. Eshelby travelled and worked in a variety of areas – including the wide areas of South Africa and  Rhodesia, as well as London and Mocambique – but always remained loyal to the family Eshelby and Sons piano business, both returning to work with their father in Johannesburg.

Eshelby and Sons began hiring pianos out to customers on a daily basis for special functions and on a monthly basis for general use. It was at the stage that J. G. Eshelby's son, Déon Eshelby (born Rhodesia , 16 January 1974), at the typical age of sixteen, joined the business.

A few years later, the brothers left Orange Grove, and the business split into J. G. and D. Eshelby's Eshelby and Son functioning from Lanseria, then Winsome Valley and W. A. Eshelby's W. A. Eshelby functioning from Fourways and Lanseria, both covering the areas of Johannesburg and Pretoria .  

Eshelby and Son , or simply Eshelby Pianos , has acquired a reputation for business integrity and first class traditional craftsmanship - such a history gives one a sense of obligation to carry out one's work in the best manner possible. Déon now handles the day to day business of repairing, restoring, tuning, buying, selling and delivering of the pianos, with help – when necessary – from his father J. G. Eshelby. Déon's affinity with restoration also includes antique furniture; he values, buys, restores and sells antique furniture when time allows him to do so. Déon's wife, Jacqueline Anne (née Müller, born Johannesburg , 20 April1982), and mother, Helga Ruth Elmire Aline (née Stross, born Germany , 15 August 1941), handle the administrative side of the business. The business operates from J. G. Eshelby and Déon Eshelby's workshops, showrooms and alluring homes at their Winsome Valley Estate, which is in the Oori Game Reserve. This site is on the Crocodile Ramble tourist route issued by the Gauteng Tourism authority, they are reference number R07.

The business still mainly serves the areas of Johannesburg and Pretoria , but sometimes makes special trips to other areas in South Africa , and arranges for the delivery of pianos wherever they can be delivered, even overseas.

.......and about Repairs and Restorations

All repair and restoration work is done at Winsome Valley, the home of Eshelby Pianos, by Deon, with help, when necessary, from his father, Jimmy. Both are expert craftsmen, and take a great deal of pride in their work. 

They distinguish between repairs and restoration, since repair work is quite different to accurate restoration. Antique guides and collectors constantly stress the importance of good restoration, which should be a combination of minimal work, the use of correct and contemporary types of material, and a need to remain as close to the original as possible in correcting any problem. 

Any repair work should be undertaken in such a manner that it can be undone in the future, should this step be necessary.  The aim of restoration is to maintain the correct criteria required, and to prevent deterioration. It should not be done to falsify age or quality, or to hide defects.  

Due to the nature of piano restoration, parts such as hammerheads, felts and so on, inevitably have to be replaced due to wear, but replacement parts as close to the originals should be used.  These replacement parts should be of the highest possible quality so that the original overall quality of an instrument is not compromised, and to maintain the correct sound and touch characteristics of the instrument. 

Piano makers take pride in producing a certain sound, which is probably why its first purchaser chose that particular make.  Given this, the consensus among restorers is that work need not be made invisible to hide the fact that repairs or restoration was necessary, but rather to maintain the original character. 

Occasionally, due to a lack of understanding, or because an unscrupulous dealer wants to inflate costs, pianos are unnecessarily over-restored – something which cannot be remedied later.

You need to remember that the instrument in your possession will eventually be passed on to your heir, consequently it is a duty to both value and correctly maintain it, just as one would any other exceptional item of furniture or artwork.

This, of course, has the added benefit of the piano keeping a good monetary value. If no one cares, the day will eventually come when there will not be a good original example in existence.