The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-02-22
HARPS.
WHERE AND HOW THEY ARE
MANUFACTURER
They are the Latest Fad in Society
The Princess Beatrice q
Harpist-Some Expen-
sive instruments.


line is the harp. For years this teau-
tiful instrument has been to a cer-
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, mania has set in which
bids fair to become popular one among
those who can afford rather expensive
luxury. -
A visit to harp factory discloses
many interesting facts in this connection,
and in starting out for such visit one
need not stop to mske a selection. He
is saved all that trouble for there is but
one such mauufactory in the United
States. ".'..~
''That harp sounds all rights" said q
visitor who stepped in to this concern
yesterday to see what real harp was. ~
"All right" exclaimed the proprietor,
''well I should hope it was all right. It's
a new instrument just in from the fac.
tory, and 1 was trying the strings and
studying the tone l never let an in-
strument 60 out until I have learned all
about it and its peculiarities; for they do
differ little in spite of every care"
"How long have you been, building
harps2"
"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 courseis finer,
but the general form and the tone and
effect 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 EuropeY'
"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. I
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-s
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 I,
in the earlier part of the century almost
drove the harp out of the market, but ].
fancy people are becoming tired ofpianosz Z
to some extent and are returning to their
old love of the sweeter, more musical Inc
strument. Before the war the harp busi-
ness was far better than it has been since;
until the last few months" I,
SHOW did the war affect the harp busi-
ness2"
''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, and it,
has never revived" 3
'sDo you keep many harps in stockf'
"No, it would hardly pay to do so.
These you ,see here are mostly old in
sent in for repairs. We only
make them as they are ordered, as a,
general rule. 1t 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 good deal Of fine
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 arez
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 notes 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
we're much more complicated and dlhcuit-
to play" -. =,
facture" ..'.
"In 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 worthw
"Anywhere from $400 to 81, 600. Be-
yond ST, 900 it depends on the ornamen-
tation, and to that, of course, there IS
no limit. However, a 81, 900 instrument
is good enough for most any one, though
the widow of General Barr.os, OF
Mexico, has one that cost 81, 500, and
many Of the royal and noble ladies in
Europe experd large sums on the en-
belIishments of the harps they buy: The
Princess Beatrice, of England, has q
beautiful harp, and not only that, but IS
a very accomplished player"
"Where can people learn to pay the
harp, and is it difficult to learna"
"Yes, 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
we'll. AS to teachers, there are scVerai
very competent ones in New York, put
I think most of the young ladies who
learn 10 play learn at converts, most OF
which have excellent teachers among the
sisters. Some of them are very tine
PLAYERS indeed, though they are seldom
heard outside their convent walls, and
consequently are unknown to the:
world."'
"Who are supposed to be the best
harp sts in the worldW
"Oh, we'll, that is hard to say. But
perhaps Professor Charles obertheurs' OF
Berlin, or John Thomas, or Apthomas,o of
London, though, by the way, these last
two are Welshmen, and probably come
by their talent by inheritance, as Wales