Equal Temperament, history of, judgement of

[John Delacour]

At 11:05 PM -0600 26/2/02, Richard Moody wrote:
>I am intersted in where the Brinsmead factory  scale came from?  Is this
>published, or archived somewhere?   ---ric

It forms part of the chapter "Useful Hints and Directions" in Edgar 
Brinsmead's "History of the Pianoforte", first published in 1869 I 
believe.  I have the 1869 edition and an 1889 edition that I've just 
acquired, and this chapter is the same in both.

The later edition begins with chapters on vibrations and a 
frontispiece showing the Chladni patterns.  This is significant, it 
seems to me, because it suggests that the Brinsmeads had looked quite 
closely into these matters, and the results of this research were 
refelected in the tone of the later pianos, particularly the grands.

The book in general is more tantalizing than informative from a 
technical point of view.  There are usually copies for sale in the 
out of print section of <http://bn.com/> for not much money.

JD