<HTML style="FONT-SIZE: x-small; FONT-FAMILY: MS Sans Serif"><HEAD><TITLE></TITLE> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content=text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.5730.11" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY text=#000000 bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV> <DIV>Steinway was the first to Patent it. That's all I know. I did read Men, Women & Pianos. That tidbit was forgotten. Whether it was a Sostenuto as we know it or some other "lever" thingee" is impossible to say.  "Is a puzzlement" (King of Siam to Anna).!!!! There certainly was little, if any music written with that "effect" until around 1890-1900, as far as I've been able to ascertain. (Open for correction on that point, as well.<G>)</DIV> <DIV>Regards,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> <DIV>Joe Garrett, R.P.T.</DIV> <DIV>Captain of the Tool Police</DIV> <DIV>Squares R I</DIV> <DIV> </DIV></DIV></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt Arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=tcole@cruzio.com href="mailto:tcole@cruzio.com">Thomas Cole</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To: </B><A title=joegarrett@earthlink.net href="mailto:joegarrett@earthlink.net">joegarrett@earthlink.net</A>;<A title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech List</A></DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> 1/23/2007 8:49:53 PM </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Hamburg Steinway, sostenuto - not</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV><FONT size=2>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."<BR>        Men, Women & Pianos<BR><BR>The Europeans didn't like it so maybe Steinway was the first to <I>use</I> the device on their pianos. :-D<BR>Tom Cole<BR><BR>Joseph Garrett wrote:<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE cite=mid380-22007132432725406@earthlink.net type="cite"> <META http-equiv=Context-Type content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII"> <P></P> <DIV> <DIV>Allen asked: "I'm rebuilding the action and restringing on a 1926 Hamburg Steinway </DIV> <DIV>O 170, and was surprised to find that it has no sostenuto mechanism, </DIV> <DIV>although it does have tabs on the damper levers (the old un-hinged </DIV> <DIV>kind). It's not just missing the mechanism - there are only two </DIV> <DIV>pedals. This is my first experience with an old Hamburg; I wondered </DIV> <DIV>if others with more experience with them (Europeans perhaps) can tell </DIV> <DIV>me whether this is typical, and when they started installing </DIV> <DIV>sostenutos. Perhaps other models had the sostenuto in this era, and </DIV> <DIV>that's why these dampers have the tabs?" </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Sincerely, </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Allen, </DIV> <DIV>The Sostenuto mechanism was invented by Steinway in the mid 1870's </DIV></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Joe Garrett, R.P.T.</DIV> <DIV>Captain of the Tool Police</DIV> <DIV>Squares R I</DIV> <DIV> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>