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
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
Erard Composition Moulds
The Erard Composition (compo) Moulds, as their name indicates, were made for the Erard Harp Company and were used in the decoration of their harps. On closer examination of the collection moulds from other makers are evident. Depicted here in approximately chronological order, the earliest moulds (reverse-carved boxwood) were first made for either the Erat or Dodd companies (the lion was used on both makers' single-action instruments). Later moulds, some of which are signed by Hall (the carver) were made for J. George Morley at the end of the nineteenth century and were used to restore old harps. The latest examples are made of compo, probably by Morley or his men, and are known as squeeze moulds; the compo was literally squeezed onto the chosen decoration in order to make the mould.
On the closure of Erard's London business at the end to the nineteenth century, the moulds were acquired with materials, instruments, and the goodwill of the company by J. George Morley. They remained in the Morley collection for over 100 years until they were sold at auction in 2014 when I acquired them. Whilst now retired from use in order to conserve them, one or two are occasionally used by experts in the restoration of harps.
