Objekt 10
Fortepiano by Pierre Erard, 1832
Description
This fortepiano arrived at Erard's Paris sales magazine on May 26, 1832. It was not until June 7, 1848 that it was sold to Mr. Socin-Werthemann in Basel. The instrument then remained in Basel until it came to the Basel Historical Museum.
It was completed less than a year after the death of the famous company founder Sébastien Erard (1752 - 1831) under the management of his nephew Pierre Erard (1794 - 1855).
The sturdy oak construction is reinforced by a metal bracing system over the strings. Pierre Erard had obtained a patent for such a system in 1825. The metal spreaders are tubular in design and are connected to the wooden beams inside the instrument by bolts that pass through recesses in the soundboard.
The action corresponds to the double repetition action patented by Pierre Erard in 1821, which in principle is still used in modern grand pianos.
The under-damping mechanism, in which the dampers are pressed against the strings from below by a corresponding lever mechanism with springs, was patented by the Erard company as early as 1808.
Object description
Pierre Erard (1794-1855)
Paris, 1832
Erard (ink, front board); No. 13076 (frame, left)
Mahogany veneer, mirrored (case)
Range C1 - g4; butt-tongue action; under-muted
two pedals: una corda (l.), damper lift (r.)
H. 976 mm (total); h. 334 mm; b. 1228 mm; l. 2318 mm (case); measure 487 mm; measure 162 mm octave
Inv. no. 1970.3265.
Gift of the Mattmüller family, Basel