<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1264" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Rob,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I truly like this post.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>It describes exactly what caught me in = piano matters.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I am restoring now an old Bechstein = from 1870, before Germany gathered into an Empire.  I have lots of fun = reading the newspaper punchings at the front rail.  Just for fun, I join = some pics, but from another Bechstein, from 1928.  Funny to read what was in = the air about that time.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Stéphane Collin</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>(time doesn't respect what you do = without it)</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B> <A title=rrg@unlv.nevada.edu href="mailto:rrg@unlv.nevada.edu">Rob = Goodale</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A = title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, November 11, = 2003 12:08 AM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> More on the Broadwood piano</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Hello everyone.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Thanks for all the input on the Broadwood = piano.  I am continuing my search for historical information.  The Broadwood = company still has many of it's early records from this era and for a fee they = will research their archives for any information.  I will be = submitting all the information to see what they may have.  In the meantime I = have taken some pictures and will hopefully get them posted here soon.  It = is truly a fascinating historic piece, quite a rare and remarkable find.  = I am still in disbelief that I have it within my possession, I have never = seen an early piano like this outside of a museum.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>I have finally pulled the action.  It is an = amazing design.  The original hammers are all there.  The = moldings are proportionally very small and have a unique bulb-ish shape, perhaps = rosewood but I'm not certain.   They consists of what appears to = be a paper or parchment-like inner layer followed by a layer of leather and = then the outer felt.  All of the parts are original with the exception = of a few hammer shanks.  The hammer butts are very small.  It is difficult to see the escapement system without some disassembly which = I have not yet done.  There are no independent hammer flanges, rather = the butts are all in sections threaded on a continuos center pin wire, (someone commented on this a few days ago, I'm not sure who because it's on my = other computer at home).  Over all the action is in remarkable = condition given it's age.  The two pedals operate the sustain and shift the = action.  The pedal rods ride on brass plates instead of in felt bushings.  = There is evidence that the bottom of the piano was originally covered with cloth.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The name "J. Allatt" is stamped on = the bottom of a piece of molding on the tail section. The name "Lough" with the = serial number is neatly written in a simple calligraphic style on a small = white label inside the key bed.  I am assuming these were the head craftsman = who built this piano.  There are 18 wound strings totaling 36 strings = on the bass bridge.  I have not yet determined if the strings presently = on the instrument are original but my general feeling is that they are = not.  The bridges are in remarkably good shape.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I have been thinking about the = historical significance of this piano.  It was built 20 years before Abraham = Lincoln became president.  Pianos were built one at a time = by assigned craftsman during this era making them very = expensive.  Generally only the more aristocratic would have been able to afford them.  >From this conclusion it is fascinating to contemplate what it must have been like when this piano was new.  = Can you imagine the day this piano was delivered to it's new home?  What = was the weather like that day?  I picture the parlor of a well-to-do = home.  The house was heated only by a fireplace.  The floors are = wood and the area rugs would have been made by hand.  All lighting was = either by candle or oil lamp.  I visualize the well dressed ladies sitting = on the hand crafted chairs, the men in their suits smoking cigars and sipping = brandy while the pianist plays the works of Chopin.  The smells from the = cast iron stove in the kitchen fill the house.  The only = transportation of the day was on foot, horseback, or by horse drawn carriage which is what = one would hear outside the house on the cobblestone streets of London.  It = took three months to cross the Atlantic by sailing ship.  160 years = later this piano is still intact and is living history that you can actually = touch.  If it could talk what stories would it tell?  What music did it play?  Can you hear the voices of Christmas carols gathered = around it?  Amazing isn't it.  Ladies and gentlemen <U>THIS</U> is = what makes the business worth all the trouble and is precisely why I = became a piano technician.  It's not just the piano, it is also the = living history which embraces it.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Rob Goodale, RPT</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Las Vegas, NV</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial = size=2> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></BODY></HTML>