History Q back

[Delwin D Fandrich]

Barrie Heaton wrote:

> Not the smallest one then - Challen made a 4' something Grand, well....
> a pretty box with string.
>
> I like the idea of a 50 foot bonfire, pity we do not do it more.  Mind
> you we just ship our PBWS and birdcages to the US under the pretext of
> antiques :-).
>
> BTW is there a book with the story of the bonfire in it.
>
> Thanks
>
> Barrie,

-------------------------------------------------

Barrie,

The claim on size really referred to the width of the piano.  Using a 'standard'
width key headscale and key endblocks (cheekblocks) that were either very thin --
on the order of 9 to 12 mm (about 3/8" to 1/2") on the treble side -- or
non-existent on the bass side meant that the overall width of the piano was only
about 127 to 129 mm (about 50" to 51") wide.  (I'm going by memory here.  I'm
sure if I've missed the actual measurements someone will quickly let me know.)

This extreme width dictated that the hammershanks flared on the rails.  That is,
they were not perpendicular to the hammershank flange rail.  The wippens were in
line with the hammershanks.  If memory serves, both the hammershank flanges and
the wippen flanges were brass.  It all made action rebuilding interesting.

There were several varieties of these pianos.  The later ones grew a bit as I
recall.  I serviced several of these pianos some years back.  The younger ones
had both bass and treble key endblocks, but they were still quite thin.  They
also figured out how to fit a more or less conventional action into them.

The rest of the piano was styled accordingly.  The tail was relatively slender.
The cut-back on the treble side was placed fairly far forward and curved in
sharply.  The overall look was quite nice.  Most short pianos grand tend to look
fairly squat and cumbersome.  These didn't.  They were fairly pleasing to the
eye.  They may have been a nightmare for the technicians who worked on them, but
the owners loved them.

They were an interesting design.  Studying them certainly had an influence on how
I viewed the aesthetic of small pianos.

Del