IMPROVEMENTS IN STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Year: 1839

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
PAPE, of No. 21, Little Newport Street, Leicester Square, in the County of
Middlesex, Musical Instrument Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by
Her Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Second day of July, in the third year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Henry Pape, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Henry Pape, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Henry Pape, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during
the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-
Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS;"
in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said Henry
Pape, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in
and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Henry Pape, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had
to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon, that is to say :-
Figure 1, a new disposition of the sounding board, which is placed behind
the braces, on the contrary side to the common way, containing a bridge
constructed in a peculiar way, such as is marked in the Drawing, by which
means the braces are between the strings and the sounding board, and by this
means the belly is kept always level by the very tension of the springs. The
plan: A, block; B, pin; G, bridge; D, braces of wood or metal, or even sheet
iron; E, strings; W, raspins, which are placed in the centre F contrary to the
usual way, which produces the advantage of shortening the strings; G, wooden
braces to consolidate the case in the upper part; H, sounding board placed
under the braces.
Figure 2. Mechanism. The principal advantage offered by this new
disposition consists in the great reduction of the keys, which are only
seven inches in length, which very much reduces the mechanical part, so
that the action can be changed with great facility and even when the
instrument is at a distance from the manufacturer. A, key; B, horizontal
centre replacing the vertical B, B; C, a screw intended to regulate the
key; C, C, winding spring to raise the hammer up again; E, damper lever,
with its centre in F, which at the other extremity has a curve intended to
receive the brass wire G. This brass wire contains the double damper H; at
the other extremity there is a hook I which goes into the notch of the key,
which on being pressed down raises the damper, and causes it to make an
inclined motion to give room to the hammer; J is a slip fixed with the hinges
to lift the dampers; K, a balance; L, a back rail of the key frame. By this
construction the damper wire can be fixed to the key, as it is shewn in red.
The forte takes place by lifting the key frame. M, a moveable paddle, which
serves to harden or lighten the touch. To this piano is adapted the system of
tuning by sight, mentioned as the piano console. The difference and the
advantage produced by this process is that one tenth only of the entire faculty
is sufficient to come to the same result as that produced by fixing it directly to a
spring, according to the principle of the spring balance, or any other means, by
weight, for, as before mentioned, it would require nine or ten times the weight
to produce the same effects; this manner is quite independent of the instrument
to which it is adapted, and it can also be tuned by the ordinary principle.

page_text: Second manner of acting by Weight.-Figure 3, side view of the
case; A, a raspin block; B, a pin bridge; C, a bridge; D, wooden braces;
F, strings; H, a sounding board placed behind the braces and stretched by
the tension of the strings; I, harmonical braces, by means of which it is
possible to regulate the elasticity of the sounding board to the degree
required. To this Figure is added a new system of tuning by pressure. J, a
screw; K, a slip of wood fixed in a raspin block; this piece is crossed by
regulating screws with leather buttons on one end, and which passing on the
springs serves to tune the instrument in the same way as already explained.
Many other principles may be employed, but the Invention consists in the
mode of tuning the instruments. The covering of the hammers is made of
felt, for which a Patent has already be obtained; but there is here a further
improvement, which consists of woollen stuff and felt worked together, which
offers a much greater solidity and is a very great improvement in the
construction of pianos.
Upright Pianoforte in the form of a Console, Figure 5 representing the
interior construction of the case with its iron frame, and which may likewise
be made of sheet iron or of wood. The sounding board is placed behind the
braces, and forms the back part of the instrument; this table, being painted in
imitation of the wood employed for the case, replaces the sill frame commonly
made use of. This new disposition is very favourable to the sound, which is
no longer damped by the frame and braces, and by this means the sound is
obtained in the highest brilliancy. In this instance the sounding board may
be twice the usual thickness, which gives it greater solidity. A, block;
B, strings; C, bridge; D, braces; E, sounding board, which is placed
behind the braces, and forms the back part of the instrument, and may
either be painted or veneered in imitation of the case. Figure. 6 repre-
sents a side view of the instrument. By this new disposition the case becomes
reduced to the size of two feet nine inches in height, by five inches and a half
in thickness. The upper part, containing the mechanism and the finger board,
is but seven inches high, and the depth eighteen. Although I do not mean
to obtain a Patent for the application of the ornaments, such as. the consoles
or columns, &c., &c., by this new disposition, however, the instrument is
become so reduced in size that the smallness of its dimensions forms an
important object, and by this means is resolved the problem which has so long
been sought for in vertical pianos. A, case; B, foot; C, the upper part,
containing the mechanism; D, sounding board. Figure 7, representing the
side view of the instrument and the mechanism.
.
A, the key; B, the lever,
which receives the hopper C, and has its center D in the same lever. The

page_text: check E is planted, which retains the hammer by the but F, having its center
in G in the hammer rail H, to which is fixed the hammer lever I, having at
its extremity the double damper J, and at the other end the winding spring K,
which serves both to damp and to raise the hammer. L, strings; M, block;
N, braces; O, bridge; Q, small wooden or metal pegs; P, sounding board
forming the back of the instrument.
To this piano is attached a manner of tuning pianos by sight. A, a
spring in the form of a square, through which passes the brass wire B, on
which is fixed the winding spring C to strengthen and regulate the indi-
cator D which the cord slackens. The point goes back, which shows that the
note is lowered; and on turning the nut E the spring offers a resistance
calculated so that the point moves to the indicator when the spring is pulled
up to the pitch. This method, by its simplicity, advantageously replaces those
for which Patents have been taken out.
Figure 8. The principal object of this Figure consists in different ways of
stringing the instrument. Instead of a single string there is here a double
one. This new disposition offers a great advantage, because it serves not only
how to increase the sound, but also to counterbalance the tension of the
strings, which, when placed on one side, draws the instrument in a winding
shape. A, block; B, braces of wood, metal, or sheet iron; C, sounding
board; D, bridge; E, strings hooked in at the bottom, and passing over the
raspin block A, and mounted by the screw F, containing a nut, and regulated
by pressure through the means of the little screw G.
Figure 9 represents a method of sustaining the vibration of the strings and
of the metal springs by means of wind. A, a wind box, in which are placed
apertures, openings B, in which the strings C are placed. D, strips of leather
which cover the apertures. To this slip of leather is fixed a silk thread F
which tends to raise it to let the wind pass through. Second method for the
springs-A, sounding board; B, bridge; C, metal or wooden block in which
are fixed the springs E, F, G. The spring E is brought in vibration by the
hammer H, and at the same time it makes the other two springs vibrate the
spring F placed in the aperture made in the copper plate K, according to the
manner of a seraphine; and when the lever I presses against the second
lever J, which lets the wind pass, the sound may be continued at pleasure.
Figure 10 representing the mechanism.
Figure 11. Second System of Mechanism applicable to Horizontal Grand
Table Pianoforte, oval or square.--A, key; B, lever; C, winding spring which
replaces the counterpoise and serves at the same time to make the touch
either lighter or heavier by pressing by the brass piece E, which balances the

page_text: rail D by the centre O. This new Invention offers a great advantage, as
every performer can regulate the touch to his wish. This new method can
be done either by springs or by weights, and may be produced either on keys
or on the mechanism. F, hopper fixed to the key, having its centre G in the
lever H, and is regulated by the screw I. J, another screw to operate on the
escapement. K, winding spring to raise the hammer, and regulated by the
screw I. M, jack to catch the hammer N and damper. The forte is pro-
duced by lifting the mechanism.
Figure 12, Plan of Oval-form Pianoforte.-The principal advantage of this
instrument consists in the manner of placing the strings; part of the strings
cross the others, and this construction offers the advantage to reduce the
size of the instrument. This new method may be performed in every kind of
pianofortes. In the upright pianofortes I place the bass strings diagonally
and the other strings vertically. In grand square I do the contrary, by placing
the treble strings over the others. It would be useless to give a description of
all the instruments where this method may be used. The mechanism of this
instrument may be placed above the strings, and the whole height of the case
is only five and a half inches, and represents a complete oval table. A, pin
block; B, raspin block; C, springs; D, bars strings which cross the preceding
ones in the manner indicated in the Drawings. F, bridge. H, iron plate or
pin block to which the strings are attached, which has openings to be able to
tune those strings which pass underneath. Figure 13, a side view. D, bass
strings which cross the others as indicated on the Plan, and pass through the
brass plate which is fixed to the brass plate I, which is fixed to the double
bridge E. These strings are attached on the iron pin block H. The manner
of fixing the strings may be done in different ways. The principal Invention
consists in the strings crossing one another as herein described. Figure 14,
shape of the instrument on the side. Figure 15, common square pianoforte in
which the treble strings cross the others, which increases very much the tone
in this part of the instrument, and reduces at the same time the size of it.
A, pin block; B, raspin block; C, spring; D, bridge; F, iron pin block to
attach the treble strings.
Figure 16. Mechanism applicable to different forms of Pianos, Horizontal,
Grand, Table, Oval, and Square.-This action is very simple and requires
very little room. The height of the cases may be reduced to five and a
half inches. The key of these instruments is reduced to a length of seven and
half inches. A, key; B, lever; L, centre; C, pilot which presses on the
lever D, containing the hopper E; F, screw to regulate the escapement; G,
moveable cheek which has the double advantage of keeping the hammer by

page_text: the notch I, and facilitates the hopper to take the hammer up again by the
nut P without being obliged to take the fingers off, as is the case in the
common actions. At the same time this cheek retains the hammer and
the hook G presses against the nut. The lever D serves likewise for the
dampers, by which the height of the hoppers is regulated; also by the screw M.
The keys are regulated by the screw buttons C.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Pape, have hereunto set my
Inrolled the Second day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty.