Dear Sir or Madam:
I recently purchased a 1895 Chickering Concert Grand serial # 83100. 
It is a beautiful satinwood empire-style with heavy mother-of-pearl
inlay throughout.  You can see the piano on ebay's completed listings
site if you type in "chickering piano."  The music stand is very
unusual - has three Stars of David - and is virtually flawless.It
supposedly is the sister piano to the one shown in the 1900 Paris
World Fair.  This is all I know.

The question is whether or not the piano is worth the money of a
complete restoration.  It needs a new soundboard and pinblocks (four
total due to the experimental design of the piano).  I am literally at
my wit's end of how to find any information on my new piano.  Is there
anything in the Chickering history of such a piano?  Any suggestions
on where to start searching?  Help!

I may be wrong, but I guess that only an expert with access to highly
specialized sources and profound knowledge on this field of expertise
could find out about the background of this particular piano and give
advice. All I can do is to quote what the "Blue Book of Pianos" says
about Chickering pianos:

"Pianos of the highest degree of quality, both in craftsmanship and
materials, worthy of completely rebuilding and refinishing."
http://www.bluebookofpianos.com/agesc.htm

Scriptor

First of all, let me concur with Scriptor about seeking an expert
opinion. Even as a pianist, I would want to get a qualified piano
technician or restorer to look at/play the piano and give me a
professional opinion on the pros and cons of reconditioning and/or
rebuilding (any help you can find online only goes so far). If you
haven't done so already, the website of the Piano Technicians Guild
would give you some names in your area (I've sited a webpage below
from that site). If you live in a city where there are universities or
colleges, I'd be inclined to call their music departments and ask for
recommendations. Usually people who tune/rebuild for music
departments/conservatories are well-qualified. After all that, if you
want to pursue getting some more information on your own before
investing in a professional appraisal, I found some websites that have
forums on which you could post some questions about your piano, and
perhaps find someone else with a similar instrument or a specialist
who might be able to give you more specific direction on how to
proceed. Good luck!

You might try searching the information on this website, and if you
can't find the information you need, posting a request for help on
their piano forum.

http://www.uk-piano.org/history/history_1.html

This site also has a forum you might use as a resource. The page below
from that site contains some general comments by a piano rebuilder
about the pros/cons of piano rebuilding, as well as a link to their
forum:

http://www.pianoworld.com/value.htm

This costs money, but might be worth a try, if you can't find
information elsewhere:

http://www.pianoexchange.com/history_form.html

While it sounds like you've already gotten some sort of professional
evaluation about what needs to be done, this page on the website of
the Piano Technicians Guild might be helpful in a general way.

http://www.ptg.org/resources-pianoOwners-rebuilding.php

Here's a comment by one of the specialists who answer questions on the
about.com site, responding to a question about a Chickering piano of
the same vintage as yours (the original question says "1835," but the
answer dates it much later than that). I'll paste in the comment and
the web page so that you can read it in context, if you wish:

"Bear in mind that if the piano was manufactured around 1885 to 1910,
then the value would not be in its musical value but moreover in
antique value. This period of Chickering was not as highly revered as
later models because of the use of non-standard action components that
have proven not to satisfy the touch requirements of musicians."

http://experts.about.com/q/Piano-Organ-Keyboard-650/Chickering-9-grand-1835.htm