IMPROVEMENTS IN PIANOFORTES
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PIERRE
ERARD, of Great Marlborough Street, in the County of Middlesex, Pianoforte
Maker to Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, send
greeting.
WHEREAS I did by Petition humbly represent unto Her present most
Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, that after considerable application and
expence I had invented "IMPROVEMENTS IN PIANOFORTES," and Her said Majesty,
being willing to give encouragement to all arts and inventions which may be
for the public good, was graciously pleased by Her Royal Letters Patent under
the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, bearing
date at Westminster, the Twenty-fourth day of September, One thousand
eight hundred and forty, in the fourth year of Her reign, for Herself, Her
heirs and successors, to give and grant unto me, the said Pierre Erard, my
exors, admiors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I or they, by myself or themselves, or by my or their deputies,
servants or agents, or such others as I or they should agree with, and no
others, during the term of fourteen years from the date of the said Letters
Patent, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend my said
Invention within that part of Her said Majesty's Dominions called England,
Her Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, in such
manner as to me, my exors, adñors, and assigns, shall seem meet, and as that
I or they shall enjoy the whole profit and advantage arising by reason of the
said Invention during the said term of fourteen years, and for that end Her
said Majesty requires and strictly commands all Her subjects whatsoever,

page_text: within England, Wales, and Berwick-upon-Tweed aforesaid, that they shall
not, neither directly nor indirectly, make, use, or put in practice my said In-
vention, or any part thereof, nor in anywise counterfeit, imitate, or resemble
the same, nor make any addition thereto or subtraction therefrom, whereby to
pretend himself or themselves to be the inventor or inventors thereof: And
whereas the said Letters Patent contained a proviso obliging me, the said
Pierre Erard, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said In-
vention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument
in writing under my hand and seal, and to cause the same to be enrolled in
Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent, as in and by the same,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Pierre Erard, do hereby declare that my said Invention is described and
ascertained in manner following, and by aid of the three Sheets of Drawings
hereunto annexed, that is to say :-
The improvements which constitute the present Invention are various, and
may be applied either to those pianofortes which stand upright, or to those
which are horizontal.
Figure 1, Sheet I. of the Drawings, is a vertical section representing my
improved action, which is applicable to upright pianofortes, and especially to
those which I call my new upright oblique grand pianofortes, wherein the
strings or wires for all the several notes in the scale, although disposed in a
vertical plane, are stretched in an oblique direction to a vertical line. a, b, c,
is the key; d, e, the hammer; and f, g, the intermediate lever between the key
and the hammer. Note, that intermediate lever was introduced in the
Specification of my Patent of the Twenty-second of December, One thousand
eight hundred and twenty-one, the term of which Patent has been extended
by a new Patent dated the Thirty-first of December, One thousand eight
hundred and thirty-five; and in the Drawing No. 1 annexed to the said Speci-
fication, the said intermediate lever is marked f, g, in the present Drawing,
Sheet I., hereunto annexed; h, i, is the sticker or elbow lever mounted on the
intermediate lever f, g; k is a regulating screw in front of the action, to
effect the escapement of the lever h of the sticker from under the hammer
when the other end i comes up in contact with the regulating screw k, which,
being placed in front of the action, is very easily got at, and allows of the
escapement being duly regulated without taking out the action of the instru-
ment, as is the case in the ordinary construction beyond or behind the centre g,
of the intermediate lever f, g; it is prolonged upwards to form a short elbow

page_text: The
This
lever arm, which acts against the lower end m of the damper m, n, o, which
damper is poised on its centre of motion n, and that centre is sustained by the
hanmer rail A, which is properly shaped to receive the said centre.
upper end O of the damper acts on the string by means of the spring p.
new contrivance, in deriving the motion of the damper from the short arm of
the intermediate lever, possesses an advantage over the former mode of actuating
it by the long end f of that lever, proportionate to the difference of lengths
from the centre 9 to the long end f, or to the short end of the lever. The
motion at being more easily produced, inasmuch as the power of that short
end of the lever is proportionably stronger; r, s, is a cross section of a long
bar of metal extending horizontally across the row of dampers, and suspended
on hinge joints, whereof the centre line is at s, the bar r, s, being so con-
trived as to act against the lower ends m of the dampers, in order to take off
their upper ends o from the strings at pleasure, by means of a pedal, in order
to effect what is called the forte. Figure 2 (where the same letters refer to
the same parts as in Figure 1) shews the way in which the action of the
pedal is transmitted to the bar r, s, at one end thereof. The upright rod t is
put in motion by the pedal in the usual way, and its upper end lifts up the
long arm u of the elbow lever u, v, a, and thus causes the other arm a to press
back the bar 1, s, and turn the same about its centre line s, so as to remove
all the dampers at once from contact with the strings at o. The centre pin v
of the elbow lever u, v, a, is fixed into a brass plate secured by screws into
the upright side of the action frame, at one end of that frame. Figure 3
is a front elevation which corresponds to Figure 1, and shews the mode of
arranging the dampers when the strings are oblique in the instrument, as is
the case in my upright oblique grand pianoforte. The dampers m, n, o, are
then placed obliquely, whereby their heads o are placed so far to one side of
their lower ends m as to leave sufficient room between those heads o and the
bridge for the hammers (which correspond to the several dampers, as shewn
by the dotted lines d, e,) which represent the centre lines of the several
hammers to strike the strings I, I, I, J, at e, e, e, e, which is a proper distance
along the line of each string from the place o, 0, 0, where the corresponding
damper acts thereon. In pianofortes wherein the strings are vertical, both the
damper and hammer to each note must range in the same vertical dotted line
d, e, Figure 3, which in such case is also the centre line of the strings for that
note, the dampers being upright in that case, and their heads o ranging imme-
diately under the hammer heads. Figure 4 shews the mode of making the
sticker or elbow lever h, i, with an opening j through its horizontal arm i, in
order to admit the wire for the check J, Figure 1, to pass up from the inter-

page_text: mediate lever f, g, freely through that opening, and also to admit any other
such wire or spring as may be required to complete this sort of action
A, B, C, Figure 1, shew the cross sections of the longitudinal horizontal rails
which, together with the damper, stop rail W, and the two upright sides
constitute the action frame. A is the hammer rail to which the hammer
centres and also the damper centres are fixed, each damper being mounted in
a centre butt, as shewn at n (also n, Figure 3), and such separate centre butts
(one to cach note) may be used for each of the hammers, and for each of the
intermediate levers instead of the usual centre plates containing the centres
for several adjacent notes. B is the hammer rest rail. C is the rail which
carries the escapement regulating screws k. At one or more places in the
length of the three rails A, B, C (each of those places being at the interval
between the keys and escapements and hammers of two adjacent notes), a
metal plate D shewn in Figure 1, and also shewn separately in Figures
5 and 6, is applied and fastened by screwing to the three longitudinal rails
A, B, C. In order to unite the three together and consolidate the action frame
in a substantial manner, so as to prevent the rails A, B, C, from bending in
their lengths between the two sides of the action frame, each plate D is formed
with lateral projections, as shewn in Figure 6, to apply against and fasten by
screws to the three rails A, B, C. There is also a small projecting part E of
each plate D, to apply upon the upper end of a piece of wood G, which stands
up from the key bed, as shewn in Figures 1 and 7, being firmly fixed in that
bed, and standing up between two adjacent keys, wherein notches are cut to
leave room for the picce G without. Touching the projecting part E is fastened
on the piece of wood G by the knob screw F, Figure 1, which must be
removed when the action frame is required to be taken out from its place in
the instrument. Figure 8 (also Figure 8, Sheet II.) shews my improved
mode of constructing the centre pin N for each of the keys, on the principle
of a hemispherical cup and ball. The lower part of the pin N, which screws
into the key bed and stands up therefrom, forms the ball, and the cup or
socket is excavated in the wood of the key, at the under side thereof. The
ball is formed true by turning in a lathe, and the socket is excavated or bored
with a bit or tool of a suitable shape and size to form a hollow exactly fitted to
receive the hemispherical part of the pin N; also upon the summit of the
hemisphere an oval-shaped pin n stands up to fit into the mortice through the
key, in order to keep the key laterally in place on the hemisphere. The
inside of the mortice though the key is lined with thin cloth, or other soft
substance, and when so lined, the said inside is a little wider than the least
breadth of the oval pin n, but rather narrower than the greatest breadth thereof,

page_text: in order that the oval pin n, by being turned round a little, may be brought
exactly to fill up the width of the lined mortice through the key, so as to make
the motion of the key sufficiently steady, and thereby (together with the
fitting of the socket in the key to the hemisphere of the pin) to prevent what
is called rattling in pianoforte keys; and in like manner, in order more
effectually to prevent such defect of rattling, I also apply oval pins for the
guide pin in front of each of the keys, which guide pins stand up from the key
bed, see H, Figure 9, also Figure 1. The hole or mortice in the under side
of the key to fit upon that front pin H is made sufficiently wide to admit of
lining the inside with fine cloth, or other soft substance, as shewn at h,
Figure 9; and when so lined, the width of the hole is a little wider than the
least breadth of the oval front pin H; therefore by turning that front pin round
it can be made to fill up the lined mortice hole h exactly. It is the upper
part of the front pin H that is made of an oval shape, the lower end which is
fixed into the key bed being cut as a screw to screw into the wood so as to be
firmly fixed, but to admit of being turned round a little for that very useful
and important purpose before mentioned. By this improvement the fitting of
the keys can easily be kept in order without producing the objectionable noise
called rattling; and note, in case of applying the said action, Figure 1, to such
upright pianofortes as from their height required the hammers to be situated
higher above the keys than appears in Figure 1, then in such case upright
rods or long stickers of suitable length may be interposed endway upwards
between each of the keys and the part a of the corresponding intermediate
lever fg, in order to transmit the effort of the key to that lever in the same
manner as is commonly practised in upright pianofortes.
Figures 10 and 11, Sheet II., represent my new improved action for piano-
fortes of a horizontal construction or form. It is applicable to grand
pianofortes, and also to semi-grands or small grands, as well as to square
pianofortes, being particularly well adapted to the two latter descriptions of
pianofortes, in consequence of taking up less room in its height than the
common grand action, or than my grand action which was part of my afore-
said Patent of the Twenty-second of December, One thousand eight hundred
and twenty-one. The merits of this action, Figures 10 and 11 (like those of
the one herein-before described and represented by Figure 1 for upright
pianofortes) are principally founded on the properties of the intermediate lever
f, g, as follows:-Figure 10 shows this new-improved action with its different
parts in the positions which they assume after the hammer e has struck the
wire end a of the key, being still held down to the bed by the finger. a, b, c,
is the key; fg, the intermediate lever with its centre of motion at g, and its

page_text: point of bearing or communication with the key at a; d, e, is the hammer
with its check J; h, i, is the sticker or elbow lever with its end i adapted
to come in contact with the lower end of the regulating screw k, in
order to effect the escapement of the upper end h of the elbow lever
from under the hammer. The hammer is represented as supported by
the step or shoulder drop w, near the upper end h of the elbow lever or sticker
h, i. The check J and the elbow lever or sticker h, i, are placed on the
intermediate lever f, g, at such proportionate distances from its centre of
motion g, as that, by allowing the key to rise at its finger end a, rather more
than one sixteenth of an inch (as is represented in Figure 11), the check J
(in consequence of being situated on the intermediate lever f, g, tolerably
near to its centre of motion g) will remain so nearly motionless as will
enable the check J to continue its hold of the hammer e, and prevent the
hammer from being all at once released from the check J; but the end h, of
the elbow lever h, i (in consequence of being situated on the lever f, g, at a
much greater distance from the said centre of motion g), will be let down with
a sufficient extent of motion to lower its upper end h until that end will get
just so much below the level of the hammer notch as to allow the said end
to go again under the hammer notch, as appears in Figure 11, and thereby
the key will have regained its command of the hammer so as to be ready, by
a further depression of the key, to strike the hammer again up to the string
in repetition of the previous blow which it had struck immediately before
assuming the position, Figure 10; and, in order to effect such return as afore-
said of the elbow lever or sticker under the hammer notch, a spiral spring z
is applied to the elbow lever in the manner shewn in Figures 10 and 11, at
a point near to its upper end h, and extending therefrom in an oblique direc-
tion to be made fast to the intermediate lever at a proper distance from its
centre of motion; and, in order to facilitate and insure such return as afore-
said of the elbow lever under the hammer notch, a spring y is applied under
the hammer so as to support its weight, and render it buoyant about its own
centre of motion.
Figure 11 shews the position which the different parts of the action assume
at the very moment that the key has been allowed to rise from the bed rather
more than a sixteenth of an inch. At its finger end a the return of the
elbow lever h, i, has taken place in the above-described manner, and the
hammer has released itself from the check J. In this action the arm i of
the elbow lever h, i, must be made longer than usual, so as to counteract
more, easily by its contact with the regulating screw k, the action of the spiral
spring, which, from its position and strength, is made to pull the end h of

page_text: the elbow lever with sufficient force to effect the return of the elbow lever
h, i, quickly under the hammer, as above described, which combination and
contrivance constitute the excellence of this action, for it unites in one action
power of blow and readiness of repetition of the blow.
Figures 12 and 13, Sheet III., shew an improved mode of applying the
metal plate which carries the hitch pins for the ends of the strings or wires to
pianofortes in general, but more particularly to my new upright oblique grand
pianofortes. A, A, are metal brackets adapted to be screwed on the wooden
frame of the instrument, in order to sustain the string metal plate B, B,
which is fastened to those brackets instead of to the wood, and the brackets
A, A, are made sufficiently strong to prevent the metal plate B, B, tilting
over, and bending the wood by the great strain of the strings, the ends of
which are hitched on hitch pins fixed into the string plate B, B. It is
obvious that two or more of such brackets as A, A, may be applied at different
places on the wood, as may be thought necessary to sustain the two ends (and
if necessary, the middle part of each portion) of the metal string plate B, B,
whether the strings are disposed in the instrument in a vertical or in an
inclining direction. When the strings are inclined, as is the case in my upright
oblique grand, also in the horizontal square, suitable stops D, D, ought to be
rivetted or otherwise securely fastened withinside of the string plate B, B, so
as to apply to and stop laterally against the several brackets at that side of
each bracket towards which the metal plate B, B, will be urged endways by
the oblique pull of the inclined strings or wires.
The following improvement of a new kind of stand or supporting legs and
feet is applicable only to pianofortes which stand horizontally, and especially
to those which rest with four feet or places on the floor.
Figures 14, 15, and 16, Sheet III., shew one end of this new stand for
horizontal pianofortes. A, A, A, Figures 14 and 15, shew the lower part or
feet for one end of the stand, made of wood or metal, and B, B, B, is a por-
tion of the upper part supported by a centre joint E upon the lower part A.
The two parts being put together at that joint E, nearly in the form of a
letter a if it were placed sideways downwards (thus ). The lower ends of
the feet A, A, rest on the floor, and the corresponding ends of the upper parts
B, B, support one of the ends of the case of a horizontal pianoforte, the other
end whereof is supported in like manner by another pair of such parts as
A, A, B, B, as is shewn in Figure 16, so that there are four feet to the stand.
The two parts A, A, and B, B, of each end of the stand are so united toge-
ther by the centre joint E, as that all the four feet will bear equally on the
floor, in order to sustain the weight of the instrument whatever may be the

page_text: unevenness of the floor or the want of flatness in the under part of the hori-
zontal case of the instrument, which want of flatness often results from the
case of the instrument having been made out of flat, in order to provide for
its alteration by the pull of the wires, or from the intended flatness being
distorted by such pull of the wires. The four feet or extreme ends of the
lower part A, A, of the frame will nevertheless always bear equally on the
floor. The centre joint E, by which the upper and lower parts of the frame
are connected together, is formed by two metal plates a, a, which are inlaid
laterally into the substance of the upper and lower parts B, B, and A, A, of
the frame at each side thereof, as shewn in Figure 15, and are strongly
fastened to the lower part A, A, by screws. Through those two plates a long
screw pin D passes, the head of that pin D being sunk flush into the outer-
most of the plates a, and the shank of the screw pin passing through the
thickness of the lower part A, A; and also through the other plate a, the long
end of the screw D enters and screws into the end of a long horizontal rail C,
Figures 15 and 16, which extend horizontally under the whole length of the
pianoforte, from the lower part A of the frame at one end to the correspond-
ing lower part of the frame at the other end, in order to unite the two ends of
the frame together, and make a firm stand for the instrument to rest upon;
and which rail C also serves to steady the lyre or frame which sustains the
centres of motion for the pedals, as is shewn in perspective by Figure 16.
The upper part B, B, of the frame is united to the lower part A, A, by the
centre bolt E, which is put through the upper part B from one of the two
metal plates a to the other, and through both those plates, as shewn in
Figure 15, the head of that centre bolt E being countersunk flush into the
outermost plate a, and the screw thread on the end of E being screwed fast
into the other plate a, the middle part of the centre bolt E passes through the
wood of the upper part B, in a hole which is so much larger than that bolt E
as to allow the upper part B of the frame a small extent of motion round
about the centre bolt E, in order that, by such motion between the upper and
lower parts A, A, and B, B, they may accominodate themselves to any want
of parallelism that there may be between the floor and the under side of the
horizontal case of the pianoforte. But note, it is not necessary that the upper
and lower parts A, A, B, B, at both ends of the frame should be thus capable
of motion about their centre bolt E, as above described; for it is sufficient to
leave one end of the frame with liberty of such motion, and the joint between
the upper and lower parts of the other end may have its bolt E fitted tight
into the hole in which it passes through the upper part B, so as not to admit
of the said latitude of motion. And to give lateral strength and steadiness to

page_text: each of the joints by which the lower part A, A, and the upper part B, B, are
united together, studs, shewn by the dotted lines b, b, Figures 14 and 15, may
be fixed fast into one part, at A for instance, so as to project up therefrom,
and go up into corresponding mortices made in the other part for their recep-
tion. The main screw D has its countersunk head notched at the circum-
ference to suit a double-pronged turnscrew, for screwing in or withdrawing
the screw D when the frame is to be put together or taken to pieces; and in
order to conceal the head of the screw D, and the outer plate a, a rosette or
ornamental cap ff, Figure 15, may be applied outside over the whole, by
screwing it upon a projecting end of the long screw D at g projecting from
the centre of the head.
The improvements which I claim as my Invention, secured to me by the
said Letters Patent, are as follows:-
First, the sticker or elbow lever h, i, Figures 1 and 4, as there constructed
and applied to the action of upright pianofortes, being mounted on the inter-
mediate lever f, g, together with the regulating screw k and the rail C,
Figure 1, by which it is supported, in order to effect the escapement of the
lever h, i, from under the hammer.
Secondly, the damper m, n, o, Figures 1 and 3, as there constructed and
applied to be actuated by the short end of the intermediate lever f, g, which
end is at the opposite side of the centre g of that lever to that end thereof
which carries the sticker or elbow lever h, i.
Thirdly, the construction and application of the plate r, s, and crank u, v, a,
Figures 1 and 2, for removing those newly-contrived dampers from acting on
the strings.
Fourthly, the metal connecting plates D, Figures 1, 5, and 6, for uniting
the several horizontal rails of the action frame together, and the projection E
for uniting with the key bed. Note, the aforesaid first, second, third, and
fourth improvements may be applied to upright pianofortes, whether the wires
in them range vertically or obliquely.
Fifthly, the ball and socket centre of motion for the finger key, Figures 8,
Sheet I., and 8, Sheet II., with the lining of the mortice through the key, and
the oval-shaped pin applied on the top of the said centre ball, in order to fill
that lined mortice as it wears wider. Likewise the lining of the hole h,
Figure 9, at the front end of the key, which improvement, though simple, will
be found of great importance, because pianoforte keys constructed in the
improved manner will last much longer without requiring repair to remedy the
very unpleasant defect of rattling.
Sixthly, the application and combination of the different parts of the action

page_text: represented in Figures 10 and 11, Sheet II.; and I claim the action formed
by so combining those parts as a portion of my Invention.
Seventhly, the new brackets, Figures 12 and 13, and mode of fixing the
metal string plate on the woodwork of pianofortes, whether standing upright
or horizontally.
Eighthly, the new frame, Figures 14, 15, and 16, for supporting horizontal
square pianofortes, and obtaining an equal support by all their four feet, not-
withstanding unevenness of the floor on which they stand, or want of flatness
in the instrument.
In witness whereof, I, the said Pierre Erard, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty.
Inrolled the Twenty-third day of March, in the year of our Lord One 2
thousand eight hundred and forty-one.