The San Saba news. [volume] (San Saba, Tex.) 1873-1966, 1888-04-20
HARPS.
WHERE AND HOW THEY ARE
MANUFACTURED.
They are the Latest Fad in Society
The Princess Beatrice a
Harpist-Some Expen-
siVe Instruments

harnlst-oOtnC A1Apth
sive Instruments
The New York Commercial Adrertise-
saws that the latest fad in the musical
line is the harp. For years this leau-
tiful instrument has been to a GER
tain extent relegated to the list of antiq-
uities, while its manipulation, except
by strolling musicians, has almost be-
come one of the lost arts. Within the
year. however, a mania has set in which
bids fair to become popular one among
those who can afford rather expensive
luxury.
A visit to a harp factory discloses
many interesting facts in this connection,
and in starting out for such visit one
need not stop TO make a selection. He
is saved all that trouble for there is but
one such mandatory in the United
States.
That harp sounds all right" said
visitor who stepped in TO this concern
Yesterday to see what a real harp was.
IAN right !" exclaimed the proprietor,
''well l should hope it was all right. Its /
new instrument gust in from the fac
tory, and was trying the strings and |
studying the tone. never let an in |
strument go out until have learned all !
about it and its peculiarities; for they do |
differ little in spite of every care"
''How long have you been building
harpsp
''About forty years. succeeded J.
F. Brown, who introduced the present
form Of harp into this country, though
the form was invented in France about
1910 by Sebastian Erard, and has never
since been improved on to any great ex
tent. The mechanism of course;s finer,
but the general form and the tone and
eject are nearly the same. The demand
for harps has been very limited for many
years, and there is barely business
enough to keep one concern moving.
How many manufacturers are there
in Europefn
"Only two, and they are operated by
the descendants of the original Erard.
One of the factories is in London and the
other in Paris, and these two, with ours,
are all the manufactures in the world |
cannot say what number of harps the
Erards turn out, only the demand in
Europe is greater than it is in America.
The crowned heads, the nobility and the
wealthy affect them more than our peo-
pie. / only turn out on an average
twenty or twenty-five year, although
the last few months the demand has in
creased greatly. The advent of the piano
in the earlier part Of the century almost
drove the harp out of the market. but l
fancy people are becoming tired of pianos
to some extent and are returning TO their
old love of the sweeter, more musical in
strument. Before the war the harp bust
ness was far. better than it has been since
until the last few months.
"How did the war affect the harp bust
nessf"
THE Southern people were more
given to the music of the harp than we
were in the North. Young ladies from
the South would come North to school,
take harp lessons and then purchase in
struments to take home. The war, of
course, put an end to that trade, aad it
has never revived"
''Do you keep many harps in stock"
'.No, it would hardly pay TO do so.
These you see here are mostly old in
struments sent in for repairs. We only
make them as they are ordered, as a
general rule. II takes about three months
to make harp, as the work is very par
ticular, and IS mostly dune by hand We
can use but very little machinery in
the work. There is a good deal of fine
mechanism about harp, though it Is not
visible. The seven pedals in the foot of
the herp connect with steel wires
that extend up through the column and
underneath the upper bar, where they
act upon the strings and change the
notes. You will notice that there are
two notches below the upper bearing.
/ When the pedal is at rest in the upper
bearing the notes are fiat; when pressed
into the first notch the I:Jtes are natural,
and the second notch gives the sharps.
Before the introduction of this mechan-
ism harps were supplied with three sets
of strings instead Of one set, as now, and
were much more complicated and difficult
to play"
''What wood do you use in the manu-
facturei"
ain this country we use maple mostly
as a base, and spruce for the sounding
board. In England beech and sycamore
are used with spruce wood sounding.
The frame must be very strong to stand
the strain; when the strings are taut the
pull is about three tons.'
And what are harps worth."
ANYWHERE from $500 to 81, 900. Be-
yond 81, 900 it depends on the ornamen-
tation, and to that, of course, there IS
no limit. However, a 81, 600 instrument
is good enough for most any one, though
the widow of General Barr.Os, of
Mexico, has one that cost $500, and
many of the royal and noble ladies In
Europe experd large sums on the en-
bellishments Of the harps they buy. The
Princess Beatrice, OF England, has a
beautiful harp, and not only that, but IS
very accomplished player"
''Where can people learn to play the
harp. and is it difficult TO learn"
Eyes. it is a difficult instrument to
master thoroughly, and requires study
and application. But, for that matter,
so it does to learn to play any instrument
well. As to teachers. there are several
very competent ones in New York, but
l think most of the young ladies who
learn to play learn at converts, most oil
which have excellent teachers among the
sisters. Some OF them are very fine
PLAYERS indeed, though they are seldom
heard outside their convent walls, and
Consequently are unknown 10 the
world"
"Who are supposed to be the best
harpists in the worldl'
"Oh. well, that is hard to say But
perhaps Professor Char.es Obertheurs, OF
Berlin, or John Thomas, or Apthomas' OF
London, though, by the way, these last
two are Welshmen. and probably come
by their talent by inheritance, as Wales
was always a great country for harp
music, and minstrelsy fourished there
long after it had died out in Eng aud
and Scotland y