Sébastien Érard
Double-Action Pedal Harp

CultureFrench
Titles
  • Double-Action Pedal Harp
Datec. 1810–1830
Made inLondon, England
MediumWood, various materials
Dimensions67 × 15 × 34 1/2 in. (170.2 × 38.1 × 87.6 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Miss Ima Hogg
Object numberB.70.55
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Chillman Parlor
On view

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Department
Bayou Bend
Description

Sébastien Érard is a French piano and harp maker whose improvements in both instruments were largely responsible for their modern forms. The son of a cabinetmaker, Érard was apprenticed to a harpsichord builder in Paris; there, about 1775, he invented a mechanical harpsichord and earned the patronage of the Duchess of Villeroi. At a workshop on her estate, he made the first French square piano (1777). Thereafter, with his brother Jean-Baptiste, he opened his first shop, and success led to the opening of a London branch in 1786.

Eventually the business passed to Sébastien’s nephew Pierre, who continued to enhance the firm’s reputation with mechanical innovations. Among the firm’s inventions were a novel grand piano action (key mechanism) that allowed quicker repetition of notes (1809), a double-action pedal harp that allowed greater ease of changing key while playing (1801–10), and new methods of constructing harp and piano frames. The firm had produced about 100,000 instruments by the end of the 19th century and pioneered in building harpsichords in the early 20th century.


Provenance[William P. Firth Antiques, Oswego, Illinois]; purchased by Miss Ima Hogg, 1970; given to MFAH, 1970.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Inscribed: Sebastian Erard's / Patent Harp / 18 Great Marlborough Street, London

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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