Square piano
Date1833 ca.
Place MadeMadison, Wisconsin, United States, North America
Serial No.1746
SignedPainted in black on nameboard: Manufactured by / ROBERT NUNNS, CLARK & Co. / LATE R. & W. NUNNS / NEW-YORKMarkingsStamped on wrest plank and written in pencil on back of nameboard: 1746DescriptionThis square piano features a unique, exquisite birds-eye maple veneer, likely a custom order. The marbled cast iron hitch-pin plate with strut was a copy of Broadwood's 1823 design. Nunns is thought to be the first American piano maker to use a French square action on their instruments, a feature that later became ubiquitous, especially for New York-made pianos.Compass: FF-f4 (six octaves)
Exterior and interior of case veneered in bird’s-eye maple, lid and flaps veneered en suite but with a wide ebony border inlaid with bird’s-eye maple in a foliate pattern; nameboard veneered in rosewood with inlay of bird’s-eye maple in a foliate pattern; four turned legs of striped maple, brass casters; black-painted cast-iron hitch-pin plate with faux marbling and oval openings, angled iron strut in treble
Pedals:
2 attached to lyre: moderator, dampers; moderator leathers individual
Action: French square action, lever overdampers (FF-d#3)
Keyboard:
Naturals: ivory, 45 mm, molded maple key fronts
Sharps: Ebony slips, 87 mm
Stringing:
FF-F single-strung overspun close-wound silvered copper(?) over iron, F#-f4 double-strung iron; string pairs looped around hitch pinsDimensionsLength: 1788 mm
Width: 721 mm
Case depth: 272 mm
Total height: 875 mm
Keyboard three octave span: 482 mm
c2 scale: 296 mmProvenanceAcquired by the donor from a private collection on the East Coast.
Credit LineGift of Tim Farley, 2025
Object number15903
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