Harp Making in
Late-Georgian London
At the end of the eighteenth century, after the French Revolution, the centre of pedal-harp making moved from Paris to London. There, building on the work of its Bavarian originators and Parisian developers, mainly immigrant makers elevated the instrument to new musical, technical, and decorative heights, and placed it in the hands and salons of the British upper classes and aristocracy. Until recently, the story of harp making in England has been dominated by the Erard family who built about 7,000 of an estimated 15,000 harps made in London during the nineteenth century; some 20 other makers have been all but forgotten.
This book, the story of harp making in late-Georgian England, assesses the role and consumption of the harp in society whilst describing its decorative and technical development. Forgotten makers and their innovations are identified. Through the lens of newly discovered documents and the reinterpretation of others, Jacob Erat's manufactories are reconstructed. His working methods, illustrative of those used in the wider industry, are rediscovered, and employees and suppliers are revealed anew.
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ISBN: 9781527265110
428 pages
Price: £60
Harp Making in
Late-Georgian London
At the end of the eighteenth century, after the French Revolution, the centre of pedal-harp making moved from Paris to London. There, building on the work of its Bavarian originators and Parisian developers, mainly immigrant makers elevated the instrument to new musical, technical, and decorative heights, and placed it in the hands and salons of the British upper classes and aristocracy. Until recently, the story of harp making in England has been dominated by the Erard family who built about 7,000 of an estimated 15,000 harps made in London during the nineteenth century; some 20 other makers have been all but forgotten.
This book, the story of harp making in late-Georgian England, assesses the role and consumption of the harp in society whilst describing its decorative and technical development. Forgotten makers and their innovations are identified. Through the lens of newly discovered documents and the reinterpretation of others, Jacob Erat's manufactories are reconstructed. His working methods, illustrative of those used in the wider industry, are rediscovered, and employees and suppliers are revealed anew.
​
ISBN: 9781527265110
428 pages
Price: £60
String box (metal), in black with remnant of gilt box lining, containing a range of late-19th/early-20th century strings in assorted envelopes, supplied by Erard, George Withers & Co. (one stamped 'Removing Nov. 1891 to Leceister Square'), G. Butler & Sons, and others. Also, a business card for George Withers & Co., and another forJ. Harry Field (concert and solo harpist and pianist of Finsbury Park), and a receipt from G. Butler & Sons, dated 1902, for harp strings.
String box (metal), in grained maple and gilt box lining, containing a range of used late-19th/early-20th century strings in assorted gauges, supplied by Erard and possibly others. Strings and accessories price list and stringing gauge from Erard (c.1890).
Assorted harp string-gauges (Erard 1829 and 1891, Lyon & Healy 1911), an undated Erard 'A' tuning fork (probably for pianoforte), a harp tuning key (anonymous), and excerpts from an early 20th-century Lyon & Healy catalogue showing gauge and tuning key.