Grand piano by matthew and william stodart, london, late 18th century, the case of mahogany with holly stringing, the fascia board and cheeks of satinwood with holly and ebony stringing and mahogany crossbanding, the five and a half octave keyboard, ff to c4, with ivory naturals faced with boxwood mouldings. The piano was designed by william stodart from a traditional design. Stodart himself took out a patent in 1777 for a grand forte piano with an octave swell, and to produce various fine tones, together or separate, at the option of the performer. Recently restored in our workshops, a fine square piano by william stodart. Travelling to the academy how to book sign up to our mailing list attending events hiring student performers. A chronological history of the piano piano time line. Edward jackson stodart 18791934 after francis wheatley cries of london set of fifteen stipple engravings, printed in colours signed in pencil 34cm x 27cm loose mounts, green cloth folio of issue edward jackson stodart was the son of edward william stodart and grandson of george g. Discover your piano s age and country of origin with our 5 star accuracy guide to ensure the quality and. William stodart maker to their majesties and royal family golden square, london inscribed in ink on the nameboard of the piano. Homais, which for me was a slow start, however as the story flashes back in time i became immersed in her life as a portrait of a strong woman emerged. The piano was made by william stodart of london 18221824.
The piano maker is a strange book that never stops feeling like its written by someone making his best guess at what human behaviour and discourse look. For another source of historical information, visit the howe collection, piano series webpage. Louisa was born in 1831, in saint ewe, cornwall, england, united kingdom. The strohber piano from the beginning has been an instrument of marked individuality and durable quality. Stodart s father, robert, was a piano maker, who in 1777 patented the. The pace of the story is captivating and keeps you on edge. I thought that the author, who has written five novels before this one, would have been experienced enough to have realized the benefits of a simple structure focused on a primary theme.
A square piano by william and matthew stodart, london. The stodart piano forte company was founded by robert stodart in london in 1775. Robert stodart was one of the leading english piano makers in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. This invention was supposed to help keep the instrument in tune by compensating for change in temperature. Each piano is manufactured with a unique serial number that is recorded for future reference of not only when it was made but also where. Originally named the trayser piano company, after one of its founders, george trayser. Dating from 1809 it is made by one of londons leading piano manufacturers, matthew and william stodart, and one of the few examples of this type of piano to be found in australia. Apart from its rarity it is significant for its construction and design showing the transition from the standard horizontal grand piano to the cabinet piano, which th. This list also includes names of old instruments which are no longer in production. It shows the tubular compensation frame invented by james thom and william allen, workman of william stodart. During the 1820s and 1830s, there were 2 piano makers and 10 piano dealers in london from whom sydney residents could have purchased a piano.
Inscribed william stodart maker to their majesties and royal familygolden square london. Grand piano made by william stodart maas collection. This piano is serial number 243 and has a compass of fff4, an english double action, felt. Contributor names hoogland, william, 1794 or 17951832, engraver. Even piano makers as famous as broadwood had their first pianos made for them by other people. Grand piano by matthew and william stodart, london, late 18th century, the case of mahogany with holly stringing, the fascia board and cheeks of satinwood with holly and ebony stringing and mahogany crossbanding, the five and a half octave keyboard, ff to c4, with ivory naturals faced with boxwood mouldings and ebony accidentals, english grand action, split bridge, trichord stringing throughout, two.
This is the website of graham walker, dorset, uk who has had an interest in the early piano for over 30 years. William stodart is first listed as a music store owner in richmond, va in 1818 where he sold music publications of new yorks william dubois. Your piano s age is one of the most significant factors in determining your piano s value. The case is veneered in mahogany, with brass inlay and rosewood crossbanding. During this time they contracted with william and robert nunns to make some of their pianos. The piano was bought by the donor at auction in london during the 1950s. This upright grand bookcase piano is the first of its type to enter the powerhouse museums collection and the earliest upright piano to be found in it. Hewitts book passed out of sight, for his engraver ran off to america with the. William howlett was one of the bestknown piano names in east anglia, where he claimed to be the only pianoforte maker, and also claimed to have been established at norwich in 1820.
Academic studies accordion brass choral conducting composition conducting guitar harp historical performance jazz junior academy musical theatre organ piano piano accompaniment research programmes royal academy opera strings timpani and percussion vocal woodwind. This piano has a compass of fff3, an english grand. William stodart was born in 1866, at birth place, to william aitchison stodart and louisa ann stodart born warne. It is an amazing story that takes you well out of the ordinary. Questions for book club discussion on the piano maker. The books homepage helps you explore earths biggest bookstore without ever leaving the comfort of your couch. This firm became subsequently known as john, william, and matthew stodart, and on 29 january 1795 william took out a patent for his upright grand pianoforte of the.
If an edwardian piano has a germanstyle action with no maker s name, the number may well line up with the following list. Adam stodart managed a new york piano manufacturing firm and dealership with william dubois from about 1822 until 1834. Austrian kurt palkas the piano maker is a fictional adventure story with a strong female lead and, true to the title, it is actually about the world of the piano. It may be calculated with reasonable confidence that william frecker was born prior to 6 june 1761. Compensating frame designed by james thom and william allen. This is another stodart grand piano but made about 31 years later than the example above. They also produced a more affordable, yet exceptional quality, piano line, the richmond piano company, which was sold alongside theirs in showrooms. He has undertaken the restoration of instruments for private collection and has also carried out research on early pianos and their makers over this period. I discovered this author as part of the canadian summer reading challenge by the county of brant library. It has been part of the donors early keyboard collection of instruments in sydney since then. The piano maker by kurt palka goodreads share book. About cumpianoguitarmaker cumpiano handmade guitars. Heres a transcript of a 1795 letter from john jacob astor to. They had been piano makers in the old country, but america was particularly good to this immigrant family.
William adam stodart was the son or possibly nephew of english piano maker robert stodart. When robert retired in circa 1795, his nephews matthew and william stodart continued the business as makers to their majesties of pianos. All alone will make you cry on 1909 stodart piano by tyson eschenbach duration. It is the story of one womans life journey from france in the time of the first world war to canada in the 1930s. The casework is in mahogany with a black line inlay, with two drawers and standing on six turned legs. In the late 1700s, there were 2 brothers who became wellknown as piano makers in london, their names were william frederick collard, and frederick william collard.
Conversely, by 1795, they would sometimes supply their pianos to retailers, to be fitted with false names. Lorimer, sir robert stodart 18641929, architect, was born at 21 hill street, edinburgh, on 4 november 1864, the third and youngest son of james lorimer 18181890, regius professor of public law at edinburgh university, and his wife, hannah 18351916, daughter of james riddell stodart, writer to the signet. Since completing his apprenticeship in 1972, william cumpiano has created hundreds of individuallycrafted guitars and other stringed instruments in the european, north american and latin american traditions. Here youll find current best sellers in books, new releases in books, deals in books, kindle ebooks, audible audiobooks, and so much more. John broadwood makes 5 12octave grand piano, london william stodart patents a large upright piano, a grand set on its head, london. The piano maker is an intriguing story told in a clean, straightforward way that is absolutely lovely and pageturning. He worked with john broadwood and americus backers on the design of what came to be known as the english grand action, and it was patented in stodart s name. Search the worlds most comprehensive index of fulltext books. William stodart historical records and family trees. When haydn came to london in 17945, he was given a stodart grand piano on. Many of these piano brand names are stencil pianos, which means that the company which owns the brand name is simply applying the name to a piano manufactured for them by another company, and that the same or very similar pianos are sold. It does not dwell on details but gives beautiful descriptions to be savoured throughout. For historical information about a piano company, please visit the blue book of pianos website.
Edward jackson stodart artwork for sale edward jackson. By continuing to use this site you consent to the use of cookies on your device as described in our cookie policy unless you have disabled them. An online listings of piano serial numbersages can be seen at bluebook of pianos. William was born on july 24 1833, in peebles, scotland, united kingdom. A square piano by william and matthew stodart, london, 1807, the case later veneered with satinwood and with extensive later painted decoration, the lid exterior with a central oval panel depicting a classical scene of two maidens dancing with cupid, flanked by swans holding garlands of flowers, the front of the case with wreaths flanked by putti playing musical instruments, and centred by a. The endurance of artisanal values in north america, by kathryn marie dudley, 2014 chicagouniversity of chicago press, 357pp. The piano maker takes us from ordinary situations to extraordinary developments. The music room workshop harpsichords, spinets and square. This article is a list of piano brand names from all over the world. William stodart and son, in consequence of the various piracies of their surname, find it necessary to acquaint the public, that, neither have they note, nor had they ever, the moat remote connexion with any other pianoforte maker, and that all instruments of their manufacture bear the full inscription, william stodart and son, no.
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