Spinet
Maker
Hugh Gough
Date1957
Place MadeLondon, England, Europe
Serial No.none
Signedin ink on the nameboard:Hugh Gough
London 1957
DescriptionSingle manual, FF-f3 (5 octaves), ebony-covered naturals, ivory-covered sharps; original plectra of sole leather; 1 × 8'. Strings mostly original: close-covered (copper on steel) from FF to D, brass from D♯ to c, the rest steel. Two pedals for engaging the buff stop and moving the register to vary the strength of plucking for forte and piano. To facilitate the provision of these effects, the strings, rather than being in pairs plucked by jacks facing alternately in different directions, are evenly spaced and the jacks all face in the same direction. The case, incorporating a bentside, is veneered in mahogany. Triple-line stringing (light/dark/light) defines panels on the exterior surfaces. The instrument rests on three turned screw-on legs.
DimensionsLength of the spine (without moldings): 1360 mm
three-octave measure of the keyboard: 480 mm
String lengths: c2 344 mm; FF 1238 mm.
ProvenancePurchased by C. Gough from Gary Brown of Beachwood, Ohio, for donation to the NMM. According to Brown’s e-mail to Mrs. Gough on 29 Aug 2006, “Semi-distant relatives of mine have owned it since around that time [1957]. I have always had an interest in harpsichords …, so when it came necessary to place my 'Aunt' Hanna (Morganstern) in a nursing home recently, I was asked by her children if I wanted to have the spinet.”
Credit LineGift of Christabel Gough, 2007
Object number13403
On View
Not on view
1675-1774 ca.