Square piano
Maker
Robert Marr
Date1799 ca.
Place MadeEdinburgh, Scotland, Europe
Serial No.none
SignedIn ink script on nameboard: Robert Marr / from London Maker / EdinburghMarkingsIn pencil on the inside of the nameboard: L.M. Dec 21, 1799
In ink on the bottom of the case: Z610-557-13-516-000
DescriptionCompass: FF-f3
Wood identification, 1993: Soundboard and bottom are Picea (spruce)
Construction:
The case is made of mahogany, sides and back 19 mm thick, back corners dovetailed. The case and keywell have ebony and satinwood stringing. There is one molding around the bottom of the case. The right side of the keywell has a semi-circulat cutaway to accommodate the lowest bass strings. There is a tool compartment left of the keywell. The tuning pins are in the back of the case, arranged in six rows of four, then in pairs. They are rectangular and pierced. The wrestplank is veneered in five panels of maple, and has letters indicating note names. The veneer was heavily varnished and does not look original. The soundboard is cantilevered over the top two notes. The grain runs from left to right. The one-piece bridge is beveled, single pinned throughout, and undercut in the bass. There is one visible rib, right of the birdge and running roughly parallel to it. On the right side of the keywell there is an extendable vertical brass rod with a vertical brass disc pinned to it. Its apparent function is to support the front right flap of the lid. The instrument sits on a mahogany trestle stand.
Action:
The action was discarded when the piano was converted to a clavichord. Entirely unorthodox tangents were mounted to the back of the keys with two small screws. They are extremely long in order that they might reach the strings.
Dampers:
The damper mechanism was removed when the piano was converted to a clavichord.
Keyboard:
Ivory naturals with three score lines. Boxwood fronts with straight-line molding. Sharps are black-stained wood with ebony caps. The keys are guided by front rail pins. Most of the key levers are weighted at the back.
Stringing:
Double strung throughout. Strings not original.
Cataloging by Rodger Kelly, 1991
DimensionsLength: 1560 mm (5' 1-7/16”)
Width: 529 mm (1' 9")
Overall height: 791 mm (2' 7-1/2")
Height of case: 219 mm (8-5/8")
Keyboard:
Three-octave measure: 488 mm
Length of heads: 42 mm
Width of heads: 22 mm
Scaling:
FF: 1403 mm
C: 1193 mm
c: 872 mm
c1: 579 mm
c2: 316 mm
c3: 154 mm
f3: 115 mm
ProvenanceGift of Maria Norton, Muscatine, Iowa, 1985.
Published ReferencesKelly, Rodger S. A Catalog of European Pianos in the Shrine to Music Museum, MM Thesis, University of South Dakota, 1991, p. 91-92.
Credit LineGift of Maria Norton, 1985
Object number03890
On View
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