Hamburg Steinway, sostenuto - not

[Thomas Cole]

Boisselot & Sons of Marseille, 1844 Paris exposition, "... exhibited an 
instrument in which it was possible to keep any selected group of 
dampers - or one single damper - off their respective strings while the 
rest remained in contact with theirs."
        Men, Women & Pianos

The Europeans didn't like it so maybe Steinway was the first to use the 
device on their pianos. :-D
Tom Cole

Joseph Garrett wrote:

> Allen asked: "I'm rebuilding the action and restringing on a 1926 
> Hamburg Steinway
> O 170, and was surprised to find that it has no sostenuto mechanism,
> although it does have tabs on the damper levers (the old un-hinged
> kind). It's not just missing the mechanism - there are only two
> pedals. This is my first experience with an old Hamburg; I wondered
> if others with more experience with them (Europeans perhaps) can tell
> me whether this is typical, and when they started installing
> sostenutos. Perhaps other models had the sostenuto in this era, and
> that's why these dampers have the tabs?"
>  
> Sincerely,
>  
> Allen,
> The Sostenuto mechanism was invented by Steinway in the mid 1870's
>  
>  
> Joe Garrett, R.P.T.
> Captain of the Tool Police
> Squares R I
>  

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