£500K worth of piano stock auctioned this weekend

One of the largest collections of pianos in Scotland is expected to fetch up to £500,000 when it goes under the hammer in Edinburgh this Sunday.

The Edinburgh Piano Company, which is closing due to the owner’s retirement, is selling some 90 pianos, ranging from £300 to £35,000 for a Bösendorfer from Vienna.  The auction is being handled by Piano Auctions Ltd at the piano company’s showroom in Joppa, Edinburgh.

Owner James Cameron started the business in the early 1980s after he arrived in the capital to study musical instrument technology. He now plans to set up a musical centre in his country home near Biggar, and host jazz nights.

He said: “It will be sad to close the doors, as it’s been an enjoyable business. It would be too difficult to watch the sale, but I hope they go to good homes.”

Séan McIlroy for Piano Auctions Ltd, who will conduct the auction, said “This is going to be a very special sale. James Cameron has been the largest dealer of pianos in Edinburgh and probably in Scotland. He has rented pianos to people like Frank Sinatra, Jamie Cullum and Van Morrison — a who’s who of music.

“The pianos we are selling vary in price from a small grand at £300 up to a brand new Bösendorfer for £35,000. There’s even a forklift truck as the last lot in the auction to move them with. They will go to every corner of the world — we have people registered to bid online from Israel, China, Australia and America. It’s really the end of an era.”