Erard 1824

[Todd L. Mapes]

Okay guys, what details do you need to know to help me pin this down?  I didn't
write down the serial number, but seems like it was 5902 or round about there.
Pierce lists 1820-5200, 1825-6000, and this guy's technician interpolated the
date to be circa 1824 based on that.  It has the same legs that the one in that
picture has, but the music desk is much more ornate than that.  And it has
those sliders on the side to put your lamps (or candles) on.  Don't remember
right off hand if the lyre is the same, but it has 2 pedals and they're flat.
Steel (?) wound bass strings, everything is straight strung.  The backcheck is
actually a metal shaft that is attached to the repetition lever (?) and goes up
through a hole in the shank in front of the hammer and catches on a piece of
leather wrapped around the hammer tail.  The dampers were under the strings
rather than on top.  Square tuning pins (or really more rectangular) and had
the appearance of those hand cut nails you run across from time to time.
Anything else you need to know?  I can get back over to the guy's house anytime
if you can give me some more tips of specific things to look for.

Todd

Robert Morss wrote:

> ----- Original Message -----
> [snip]
> > It isn't unusual to confuse the London vs Pari serial numbers and get a
> > much too early date for an Erard
>
> Agreed. Years ago (early 1980's) I owned a London Erard that the Pierce
> atlas dated to the 1840's (IIRC), but it turned out to be closer to 1870 or
> 1880. I ended up selling it to Edmund Michael Frederick, who was living
> nearby at that time (in Ohio). I don't know for sure if Mr Frederick still
> has it, but it looks a lot like the 1877-78 Erard he has pictured on his
> website at http://www.frederickcollection.org/
>
> Robert Morss RPT
> Greenwich, CT