Scan 241
Catalogue of the Stearns collection of musical instruments, 1918
16 lines. Read by computer on 17 September 2026. Printed page 201. See the scan on archive.org.
11337. SPINETTINO (Fifth, or Octave-Spinet) ……………….. Italy
2This instrument rests in a painted case. The inside of fall-board carries a painting of a bird on a slender branch. Compass of three octaves and eight notes from e.
3Length, 67 cm. Width, 45.8 cm. Depth, 16 cm.
5Section C. Vibrating Strings actuated by Impact, through an indirectly-acting Key-board Mechanism.
7As, in viewing the arrangement of the display pipes in an organ, we may see in the graduated sequence in which they stand a rehabilitation of the "Pipes o' Pan," so, in a modern grand pianoforte, the contour of the plate carrying the strings discovers a striking resemblance to the early harp.
9As has been stated elsewhere, the Assyrian azor was the first stringed instrument in which the vibration of the tone-producing means was incited by impact. It may, therefore, be considered the earliest application of the fundamental principle underlying the pianoforte.
11The two essential factors in all key-board instruments—(1) the means of tone-production and, (2) the controlling mechanism, will now be considered.
13In the development of the first factor, omitting reference to the earliest stages, we find in the clavichord, harpsichord and clavitherium, the arrangement of the strings which has been perpetuated in modern instruments, and, in the order given, they display the forms known to us as the "square," "grand" and "upright." At this point it must be stated that in a few years the first will take its place in the ranks of the obsolete. A fundamental structural weakness—the lack of resistance to the "pull" of the strings—was removed, in 1825, by Alpheus Babcock, an American, who invented the cast-iron frame. This was applied to the "square," at that time the favorite form. Later (1844) Jonas Chickering, of Boston, produced a perfected cast-iron frame, also for a "square," but soon after (1851) applied the same invention to the "grand." In the first pianofortes single strings were used, largely on account of the structural weakness mentioned, but with the introduction of the iron frame it was possible to increase the musical resources of the instrument by the adoption of bi-cord, and triple stringing, i. e., two, or three, unisons to a tone, through all but the highest and lowest octaves. Another advance was made through the invention of over-stringing by Boehm, in 1835, and double over-stringing by Steinway & Sons, in 1859. The compass of the instrument was gradually extended until it has now reached 7 1/3 octaves.
15The evolution of the second and most important factor dates from 1709, when Bartolomeo Christofori (1653-1731) invented the form of action containing the fundamental principles of our modern mechanism. This has been contested in certain quarters, but in vain, for his priority rests on uncontrovertible evidence.
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