Objekt 11
Fortepiano, Paris, 1832
Description
This fortepiano arrived at Erard's Paris sales magazine on May 26, 1832. It was not sold to Mr. Socin-Werthemann in Basel until 7 June 1848. The instrument then remained in Basel until it was transferred to the Basel Historical Museum.
It was completed just under 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 above the strings. Pierre Erard had received a patent for such a system in 1825. The metal braces are tubular in shape 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-repeating action patented by Pierre Erard in 1821, which in principle is still used in modern grand pianos today.
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; reed action; underdamping
two pedals: una corda (l.), damper lift (r.)
H. 976 mm (total); h. 334 mm; w. 1228 mm; l. 2318 mm (case); action 487 mm; octave 162 mm
Inv. no. 1970.3265.
Gift from the Mattmüller family, Basel