Upright piano
ALTERNATE NAME(S)
- Lyraflügel
Maker
Johann Christian Schleip
Date1825 ca.
Place MadeBerlin, Germany, Europe
Serial No.none
SignedIn ink on milk-glass plaque on nameboard: J. C. Schleip / in / BerlinMarkingsStamped in ink on front and back of action frame; the date is handwritten: Peter Kern, Klaviertechniker/Frankfurt a. M. 8. 6. 36
DescriptionCompass: FF-f4 (six octaves)
Knee levers: left: una corda; middle: bassoon; right: damper
Bassoon compass FF-g2
Construction:
The Empire-style case is in the shape of a lyre, with seven wooden strings and is veneered in open-grained mahogany.
The nameboard is veneered in satinwood bordered by decorative inlay.
The maker's name appears in blue enamel on a milk-white glass plaque which is inlaid on the nameboard.
Other inlaid decoration includes the garlands at the top and bottom of the lyre.
There are four column-shaped lefts which are turned at the top and bottom of the lyre.
Brass candle holder mounts are inlaid on the cheeks.
There are two buttons in the front panel whcih are connected to rods which hold the panel in place.
Then the buttons are pushed toward the center, the panel may be removed.
The wrestplank is along the top and right side of the case.
The rectangular steel tuning pins are pierced, and there are punched letters on the wrestplank indicating note names.
The soundboard meets the wrestplank, but does not extend all the way to the lower left portion of the case.
The soundboard frame in this corner is not mounted to the case, in order to accommodate the bassoon stop.
The soundboard grain runs from top left to bottom right.
The squared, one-piece bridge is double pinned throughout and is undercut on both ends, which extend to the edge of the soundboard.
The one-piece nut is curved downward on the left side, giving the bass strings a greater speaking length.
The bassoon stop consists of a strip of parchment which is looped back across its entire length forming a U-section.
When the knee lever is pushed, the U-section is pushed up against the strings from behind and buzzes when the hammer strikes the string.
Action:
Hammers strike from the front.
No stickers.
Threaded wires with 90-degree angles at the top are inserted in the back of the keys.
The jacks are pinned to these wires and held in place with leather washers.
Jack height can be adjusted by screwing the pins up or down.
The jacks have srpings and are guided by horizontal guides extending from the action frame.
The letoff buttons are actually levers, the bottoms of which are held in place by a small rail which is glued to the action frame.
The top of the lever is covered with leather and can be pushed back by turning a screw from the back of the action frame.
The ahmmers are pinned separately in metal flanges.
The hammer butts are of sycamore.
The hammer return silk loops are looped around a spring that is inserted into the hammer rest rail.
The round hammer shanks are a slender 3.3 mm thick and are made of birch.
The rectangular hammer moldings are of birch or fruitwood and are graduated from bass to treble.
Bass hammer moldings are 42 mm long, 9 mm wide and 6.5 mm thick.
Treble hammer moldings are 46 mm long (the longer length compensates for the thinner leather), 9 mm wide, and 2.5 mm thick.
There is one small rectangular piece of hard leather on the faces.
Hammers f3-f4 have two layers of sheepskin covered with buckskin
Hammers e-e3 have three layers of skin covered with buckskin
Hammers FF-d-sharp have three layers of sheepskin with an outer layer of thick suede.
The total thickness of the leather coverings of the bass hammer is 9 mm; that of the treble hammer is 4 mm.
A unique aspect of lyraflugels is the backcheck mechanism.
When the key is depressed it raises a round pink shank which is in front of the jacks.
The top of the hsank has a leather covering and is glued to the backcheck lever.
The backchecks consist of one layer of thick suede backed with two layers of hard leather.
The backcheck wires are inserted between the two layers.
When the key is depressed, the backcheck levers pivot and the backchecks contact the top of the hammers.
The legs of the backcheck rail rest in mortises on the action frame.
Dampers:
Damper compass FF-f3
The damper block is glued to a thin flat strip of wood, which contains small cloth bristle dampers.
FF-c2 have three dampers; c-sharp2-g2 have two dampers, and g-sharp-f3 have one damper.
The size of the dampers is graduated from bass to treble.
The damper wire is insterted through the damper block and is mounted to a vertical damper lever.
The damper lever pivots when the key is raised, thereby lifting the dampers off the strings.
The dampers have wire springs.
Keyboard:
Natural tops and fronts of ivory
Stained sharps
Key levers weighted at the back and guided by front rail pins.
The levers have key buttons at the balance hol, with leather bushings.
The key frame is mounted to the action frame.
Stringing and scaling:
Double strung.
The strings appear to be modern steel replacements. .
The strings run from lower left to upper right.
FF-D-sharp: steel loosely wound with copper
E-f4 steel
Cataloging by Rodger Kelly, 1991
DimensionsLength: 1118 mm (3' 8")
Width: 582 mm (1'10-7/8")
Height: 2075 mm (6' 9-11/16")
Keyboard:
Three-octave measure: 480 mm
Length of heads: 43 mm
Length of head plus tail: 160 mm
Width of heads: 22 mm
Scaling:
FF 1319 mm
C 1272 mm
c 1223 mm
c1 1054 mm
c2 606 mm
c3 314 mm
c4 86 mm
f4 59 mm
ProvenancePurchased in 1982 from Jackson's Fine Pianos, Rockford, Illinois.
Published ReferencesClinkscale, Martha Novak. _Makers of the Piano 1700-1820_. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993, p. 245.
Kelly, Rodger S. _A Catalog of European Pianos in The Shrine to Music Museum_. M.M. Thesis (University of South Dakota: 1991), pp. 117-122.
Kuronen, Darcy. "Keyboard Instruments at The Shrine to Music Museum," Early Keyboard Studies Newsletter, Vol. VI, No. 1 (October 1991), pp. 10-11.
"Important Acquisitions Made by Museum in 1982," Shrine to Music Museum Newsletter, Vol. X, No. 2 (January 1983), p. 2.
Larson, André P. _The National Music Museum: A Pictorial Souvenir_. Vermillion: National Music Museum, 1988, pp. 18, 19, and 42.
"'Schubertiade' Enjoyed by Capacity Audience," Shrine to Music Museum Newsletter, Vol. X, No. 4 (July 1983), p. 2.
"Scully Duo-Piano Team Will Perform Sept. 30," Shrine to Music Museum Newsletter, Vol. X, No. 4 (July 1983), p. 3.
Credit LineBoard of Trustees, 1982
Object number03123
On View
Not on view
