[CAUT] Unusual Steinway wippens

[David Doremus]

I just looked at an 1889 6'1" A which was unusual in a couple of 
respects. It had no sostenuto, were they building them in Hamburg that 
early? The action brackets were drilled for the rod but it had never 
been installed, there was no trapwork or trace of any. The legs and 
music desk looked original to my eye but had no carving or scroll work 
like you would expect on a New York instrument. They might have been 
replacements but old and very well done, were the Germans less enamored 
of decoration at the time? The main thing was the wippens, they looked 
like the standard ones with angled capstan and no jack adjustment screw 
but they had support springs on the flange just like the current booster 
ones, except, if my memory is correct, reversed, pointing up instead of 
down. I have never seen this before, was it common practice back then or 
was this an idea that fell by the wayside only to be rediscovered? Its 
always fun to run into something a little different...

--Dave
  New Orleans