List of Keyboards
Grand Piano by Antunes, J
The Antunes family held an enviable position in the 1760s, having received a royal writ in 1760 which granted them the sole privilege of piano manufacture and commerce in Portugal for a period of ten years.
The interior of this remarkably preserved piano is veneered in Brazilian tulipwood. The piano has a Cristofori-type action and a hand-operated una corda.
Compass: C-d3 (4+ octaves, 51 notes).
Boxwood naturals, ebony over rosewood accidentals.
Spruce soundboard with grain parallel to spine; unvarnished.
Square Piano by Albrecht, C
Compass: FF-f3 (five octaves, 60 notes, no GG-flat)
The case is made of solid mahogany.
Nameplate of mahogany with inlaid satinwood.
The lid and stand are not original.
Prellmechanik action without escapement.
Underdampers with damper mechanism consisting of a horizontal rod that lowers the dampers from the strings. The controlling mechanism is missing.
Square Piano by Albrecht, C
This square piano was made by Charles Albrecht in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania around 1797-1799. Albrecht born in Germany, was in Philadelphia by 1788 and was active there in the 1790s. Some of his instruments are among the earliest surviving American pianos. This piano has a compass of FF-c4, a Viennese action without escapement, leather hammers, double-strings throughout, FF-C wound brass, C#-G plain brass, G#-c4 plain iron, with pins to right, there is evidence of a possible damper stop, wood frame, and a mahogany case with lighter wood banding
Credit: Smithsonian
Square Piano by Albrecht, C
This square piano was made by Christian Friedrich Ludwig Albrecht in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania around 1832. It is assumed that he had been trained as a piano maker in Germany, but nothing is known of his training there. C.F.L. Albrecht also was trained as a cabinetmaker and apparently improved his income from the piano trade by cabinetry. This piano has a compass of FF-f4, an English double action, felt (?) hammers, double-strings throughout, first 10 notes are wound brass, the next 9 are brass, the rest are iron, 1 pedal (attached to the center post): dampers, wood frame, and a mahogany or rosewood case with ornamental metal moldings
Credit: Smithsonian
Square Piano, Albrecht, C
Charles Albrecht, a German immigrant, was one of the earliest known piano makers in this country probably arrived in October of 1785 and is known to have been actively building instruments by 1791 in Philadelphia. More than twenty instruments by Albrecht are known to survive. Credit: Met Museum
Cabinet Piano by Albrecht, C
This upright piano was made by Christian Frederick Ludwig Albrecht in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania around 1835. It is a “cabinet piano,” about 6 feet tall, in a rectangular case that reaches to the floor. Christian F.L. Albrecht was trained as a cabinetmaker and apparently improved his income from the piano trade by cabinetry. This piano has a compass of FF-f3, an English sticker action, leather (?) hammers, double- and triple-strings, 3 pedals: keyboard shift, moderator, and dampers, wood frame, and a wood case, gilded with columns and a silk top panel
Credit: Smithsonian