Upright piano
Maker
J. & W. Shepherd
Date1885-1899 ca.
Place MadeLondon, England, Europe
Serial No.3724
SignedDecal on nameboard: J. & W. Shepherd / & AT RUSHEY GREEN, CATFORD, S. E. / LEWISHAM HIGHROAD, LONDON.MarkingsStamped on wrestplank, right side: 3724
DescriptionCompass: AAA-a4 (7 octaves) 85 notes
Two pedals: Left: moderator; Right: damper
Construction:
Case veneered in rosewood, with incised lines on the legs and sides of the keywell
The front panel has three framed sections, which contain multi-colored flowers and leaves in marquetry
Cast-iron frame with a one-piece wood nut, no pressure bar
Nut single pinned from AAA-f-sharp2 and double pinned from g2-a4.
Two square bridges: bass bridge AAA-d-sharp; treble bridge e-a4, both double pinnned throughout
Modern hitchpin arrangement.
Soundboard grain is left to right.
Action:
Modified bird-cage action.
The action in this piano is interesting in that there is no whippen assembly per se; the jack also functions as the sticker, the whippen, the damper lifter, and the backcheck mount, all in one
The jacks are pinned to a lever, which is pinned in a flange to the action frame.
The back of the key levers have crude capstans consisting of flathead screws covered in cloth
The jack is 151 mm (extremely long)
The jack toe is only 44 mm above the back of the key.
Another lever mounted to the jack lifts the bird-cage wires.
The backchecks are mounted to this lever and contact the inside of the catcher.
There is a spring mounted to the jack which is hooked through a rope loop on the front of the hammer butt. (This type of hammer return spring is still used on spinet pianos)
There are no bridle tapes.
The hammers are modern: bass hammer felt is 9mm thick, 35 mm from top to bottom.
Dampers:
Damper compass AAA-c3
The damper felts are let into C-shaped damper blocks, but are otherwise modern.
THe length of the dampers gradually decreases from bass to treble and dampers d2-c3 have smaller, C-shaped damper blocks with flat, rectangular felts.
There are no springs, but damper levers are weighted.
Keyboard:
Ivory-covered one-piece naturals
Dark-stained walnut sharps.
Keys guided by front rail pins.
Key levers weighted at back.
Stringing and scaling:
Parallel strung
AAA-BB-flat: Single strung, steel wound with copper
BB-d-sharp: Double strung, steel wound with copepr
e-b1: Double strung, steel
c2-a4: Triple strung, steel
Cataloging by Rodger Kelly, 1991
DimensionsLength: 1313 mm (4' 4-1/16")
Width: 585 mm (1' 11-1/16")
Height: 1238 mm (4' 3/4")
Keyboard:
Three-octave measure: 492 mm
Width of naturals: 22 mm
ProvenanceArne B. Larson Collection, Vermillion, South Dakota, 1979.
Published ReferencesKelly, Rodger S. A Catalog of European Pianos in the Shrine to Music Museum, MM Thesis, University of South Dakota, 1991, p. 148-151.
Credit LineArne B. Larson Collection, 1979
Object number03584
On View
Not on view
