Folding Harpsichord

Christian Nonnemacker

1757 · Wood, various materials · Musical Instruments

A rare form of a small harpsichord, the folding harpsichord was made to sit on a table. It has a removable keyboard as well as a soundboard in three hinged sections that fold up. The instrument has a limited range of three and a half octaves a few octaves and a quiet sound, which would have been well suited for private music making. Technical description: Composed of one rectangular and two trapezoidal sections hinged together so that the sections fold into a rectangular box shape for travel, case of light brown wood (stained poplar?); compass C/e-c4, rosewood naturals with ivory arcades, accidentals veneered on the sides with rosewood and plated with ivory, two-rail keyframe, keys guided by pins between the rear ends of the levers, keyboard must be withdrawn to fold the instrument; jacks and tongues of pear, quill plectra, brass leaf springs, small lead weights, the jacks for the lower springs, small lead weights, the jacks for the lower 2/3 of the compass slotted for a single damper, box register is made by gluing blocks between two thin battens. (Douglas Maple 1983)

Artist

Christian Nonnemacker

Date

1757

Medium

Wood, various materials

Culture

Italian

Department

Musical Instruments

Credit line

The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889