List of Keyboards
Upright Piano by Lichtenthal, H
Hermann (Herman) Lichtenthal was a piano maker born in Silesia who worked primarily in Brussels before later moving to St Petersburg.
He established a piano workshop at 27 Boulevard de Waterloo, Brussels, in 1823 and remained there until about 1836, when his business was taken over and reorganized by François Berden, forming the basis of the later firm Berden & Cie.
Lichtenthal was known for his inventive designs and obtained several Belgian patents, including:
A piano-viole (a hybrid instrument).
The unusual "piano à niche de chien" ("dog-kennel piano").
The piano à niche de chien was a small upright or obliquely strung pianino with a 6½-octave keyboard. It featured a distinctive opening in the lower case to allow the player's feet to fit underneath, with the pedals mounted on either side of the opening.
Significance: Lichtenthal was an innovative early Belgian piano maker whose experimental designs and patents contributed to the development of piano manufacture in Brussels during the early nineteenth century. His workshop later evolved into the successful firm of Berden & Cie.
Photo Credit: Daderot Wikicommons
Harpsichord by Leoni, G
Technical description: Inner-outer case construction, interior case and soundboard of cypress, exterior and interior mouldings, bridge, and nut stained black, exterior mouldings include vertical members at every corner to complete a frame around every panel, painted deal exterior case; C/E-c3, 2x8 ', boxwood naturals with boxwood arcades, walnut accidentals with small ivory studs at the rear, three-rail keyframe, keys guided by rear rack; present jacks possibly of fruitwood, with quill springs and plectra, double flag dampers (may not be original); one box register with two rows of slots chiseled out, not movable; separate front and rear stands, each with four carved and painted cabriole legs, the front stand has a drawer; parchment rose in soundboard. Credit (Douglas Maple 1983)
Clavichord by Lemme, F
1 manual, F1–a3, 8'8', F1–A,4'. The case is in the ‘oval-round shape’ devised by Lemme, with long straight sides and short sides curved outwards; maximum width 1773 (1800) mm, width at the keyboard wall to the start of the rounded short sides 1534 mm, depth 527 (539) mm, height 189 mm, height with lid 201 mm, with stand 772 to 775 mm, keyboard height 712 mm. Base made of pine, 32 mm thick. Sides made of spruce, veneered on both sides with oak, 15 to 17.5 mm thick, with exposed finger joints; the outer veneer was glued on only after assembly, thereby covering the finger joints; a mitred round moulding on the upper edge; the sides rest on the base panel. Lid made of oak, smooth, with a moulded edge at the top and an overlapping moulded strip at the bottom; on the back panel, two brass strips, probably original; on the keyboard flap, four brass strap hinges, possibly replaced; the front flap is loose, held in place only by two bolts, plus a lock, all made of brass and original. Three hinges are recessed into the upper edge of the back panel; their purpose is as yet unknown (see also No. 29). The soundboard is made of pine, 17 mm thick, double-curved, with a semi-circular soundhole, 220 mm wide and 32 mm high. In the keyboard compartment, a stabilising strip of pine, running parallel to the strings, 28 mm wide, 49 mm high, original; in the soundboard, two under-soundboard ribs, the first of which runs towards the balance beam as far as the right-hand side panel, the second from the attachment strip to the first under-soundboard rib
Credit: Uni of Leipzig
Grand Piano by Lemme, C
Technical description: mahogany and crossbanded mahogany veneer case on four square, tapered legs; panel and frame lid; wrestplank of beech, veneered; unpierced tuning pins; soundboard not laminated; compass FF-f3 (61 keys), ivory naturals with black-painted molded fronts, ebony slips over black-stained accidental blocks; 1 knee lever, operable by either knee, lifting dampers by raising rack in which they are suspended; German action with escapement, no check; damper jacks guided by wood and leather rack over strings, jacks cylindrical for bottom 2/3 of length, cylinders passing through holes in leather lower guide and resting on leather-lined wood blocks glued to key levers; double strung throughout, none wound. Credit (L. Libin 1976)
