IMPROVEMENTS IN PIANO- FORTES
Year: 1844

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, OBED
MITCHELL COLEMAN, of Fitzroy Square, in the County of Middlesex.
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Tenth day of October, in the eighth year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Obed
Mitchell Coleman, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and autho-
rity, that I. the said Obed Mitchell Coleman, my exors, adñiors, and assigns,
or such others as 1, the said Obed Mitchell Coleman, my exors, adñiors,
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 law-
fully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PIANO-
FORTES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the
said Obed Mitchell Coleman, 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
lad, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, 1, the said
Obed Mitchell Coleman, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention

page_text: First, in adding reeds acted upon by wind (which I call an Elian Attach-
ment) to the bottom ofthe case of any ordinary pianoforte incorporated with it,
so as not to alter its external appearance, and without the necessity of having
the pianoforte built for the purpose of receiving the same, and also without in-
terfering with or altering in any way any important part of the instrument,
or the ordinary arrangement of that part called the action of the pianoforte,
which may be withdrawn and replaced in the usual manner without any dis-
turbance of the reeds or parts connected with them, or of the action of the
pianoforte itself, and without any additional keys to put the reeds in action,
the reeds being placed immediately under part of the ivory or fingering part of
the pianoforte keys, and in front of the fulcra of those keys, and acted upon
by them, whereby the depression of that part of those keys in the act of
playing on the instrument enables me to cause a direct downward action upon
the stickdowns, which open the valves of the reeds without the intervention
of any lever, while the foregoing features of my Invention allow the instrument
at all times to be a complete and ordinary pianoforte, and capable of acting
as such, wholly independently of the reeds, at all times at pleasure; and,
Secondly, in such improved construction and arrangements of those parts
constituting what I call the CElian Attachment (more especially in the wind-
chest of the same, which I make elastic or capable of expansion and con-
traction) as modulate its tones to such perfect harmony with those of the
pianoforte, and so completely incorporate the tones of the one with the
other, that the pianoforte becomes at once a much higher order of musical
instrument than it ever could be without this attachment.
And, in further compliance with the said proviso, I, the said Obed Mitchell
Coleman, do hereby declare the manner in which my said Invention is to be
performed by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the five
Sheets of Drawings annexed, marked A, B, C, D, and E, and to the figures
and letters marked thereon, similar letters being used to denote similar
parts in each Figure and Sheet of Drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
In the Drawing marked A Figure 1 is the section of an ordinary square
pianoforte, with my Invention attached thereto and incorporated therewith.
A, A, are the legs of the pianoforte; B, B, the top of the pianoforte case; C,
part of the front of the case; and D, the name board. The parts colored
green are the parts immediately connected with the hammers, and form what
is usually called the action. E is that part of the pianoforte key which lies
under the action and behind the fulcrum F and G; H, that part of the key

page_text: which lies forward of the fulcrum, H being the ivory part of the key which
the fingers touch in playing. J, J, is the bottom board of the pianoforte case,
and it will be seen that to and with this bottom nearly the whole of my
Invention is attached and incorporated. In the bottom board J, J, of the
pianoforte, and immediately under that part of the keys of the pianoforte
forward of their fulcra, between G and H, is formed a chamber a, u, running
from end to end of the key frame, and this chamber I call the reed chamber,
as the plank or board which carries the reeds is fixed therein, there being
openings through the plank or board 6 for the reeds, each opening having a
valve c to cover it. The board or plank b has a reed applied under every
key of the pianoforte, the note of the reed corresponding with the note of the
pianoforte, and the reed is brought into action by the same key that brings
the corresponding string of the pianoforte into action. The reed frames I
prefer to make of plate metal d, stampt into form as shewn in the Drawing,
the tongue or reed e being affixed in the opening aforesaid in the manner here
shewn. The reed cases are fixed in their places over their respective openings
in the plank 6 by means of pins fat one end, as is here shewn, the other end
being slipped into the groove V cut to receive it. Into the under side of each
of the keys of the pianoforte is screwed an eyed wire g, which, when a key is
pressed down by the touch of the performer on it, comes on to the button h
of the stickdown s, the bottom of which stickdown rests on the valve c of the
reed under that key. Hence, when a key is depressed by the performer's
finger in the usual way, it will not only strike the note of the pianoforte in the
ordinary manner, but will at the same time depress the valve of the reed
immediately underneath it, and thus cause a reed of the corresponding note
(if the bellows be charged with wind) to sound at the same time as the note
of the strings. There is also another wire i screwed into the under side of
each key of the pianoforte, the object of which is to give a shake or tremulous
motion to what I call the modulating board or self-adjusting cover to the
reed chamber, the action of which will be more particularly explained here-
after. This modulating board or cover j may be of wood or other material;
I prefer it to be of very thin light wood. It extends from end to end of the
reed chamber a, and covers the reeds, so that the air in the chamber above
the reeds, with the sound of the reeds, can only escape by the rising of the
modulating board or cover j; and it will be found that it is the particular
mode of applying this board or cover, and of allowing it to rise, which
modulates the tones of the reeds of the pianoforte to perfect harmony with the
tones of the strings of the pianoforte, thereby completely incorporating, as it
were, the tones of the one with the other. The modulating board, it will be
seen, is kept down at the front edge by slight springs, like m, of which there

page_text: are three in the whole length of the board, or by its own weight, and at its
back edge by the bar lever /, acted upon by the spring, the end of the bar
lever taking into a small recess made to receive it. The object of this
lever is to produce a swell at the pleasure of the performer, for which
purpose I employ a pedal k, which, acting on the lever 1, when pressed on by
the foot, raises the modulating board j, and when released allows it to close
according to the taste of the performer. W is a narrow strip of leather laid
from end to end of the upper side of the back edge of the modulating board,
and is for the eyed wires i to act upon, as will be more particularly explained
hereafter. The modulating board should be furnished with a narrow strip of
soft leather all round the under side of the outer edge, both at the back,
front, and ends. The object of this leather is to prevent the free escape of
air except when the board is raised for the purpose. The space marked pis
the wind chest, and it is filled or rather supplied from the single bellows n
which is worked by the pedal o, the bottom of the pianoforte case forming the
top of the bellows, which is furnished with the valve t. This single bellows
may be placed in any convenient situation. according to the shape of the
instrument, whether square, grand, or cottage pianoforte. It being an
essential part of my Invention that the wind chest should be elastic, and
capable of expansion and contraction, it will be seen by reference to the
Drawings annexed that I have in this case availed myself of the front portion
of the bellows, or what is usually called the reservoir part of double bellows,
to form the bottom or clastic part of the bottom 2, 7, of my wind chest, thus
securing its clastic effect without a separate clastic wind chest ; and this I
consider by far the most desirable plan, where practicable, though it is evident
a wind chest made on the same principle of the fore part of the bellows here
shewn, or in fact made exactly like it, might be used in addition to a double
bellows of two parts. But to return to the wind chest shewn in the Drawings,
it will he seen that it is capable of expansion and contraction, in consequence
of the manner in which it is constructed, and of its being furnished with the
helical or other springs and safety valve, which prevents the air used
against the reeds ever being too much condensed or rendered too elastic, so
as to act too harshly or violently against the reeds when admitted through the
valves or pallets. It is by this elastic arrangement of the bottom of the wind
chest and of the modulating board over the reeds, aided by the position
which the wind chest and reeds hold in the instrument with reference to the
keys and other parts of it. that I obtain that perfect union of tone, though
derived from two sources, which makes at once the novelty, the perfection,
and the charm of the pianoforte with my improvements applied.
It only remains for me now to lescribe the various effects which this

page_text: "
arrangement either allows to be produced or assists in producing. They are
as follows:-If the air pedal is not touched, and there is no compressed or
condensed air in the wind chest, the performer has an ordinary pianoforte
before him, unaffected in any way by the Eolian Attachment. He plays on the
ordinary keys, and in the ordinary way, forte or piano, but no voice save that
of the ordinary pianoforte strings responds to his touch. He can then press
on the air pedal o, fill the wind chest, and play on the same keys, but in a
manner to press the keys down slowly without causing the hammers to strike
the strings, and the consequence will be that his touch will be responded to
only by the voice of the piano reeds. Play on the keys in the ordinary
manner of pianoforte playing, and keep the air pedal in motion, and a
most melodious and complete union of the two voices which were before
heard separately will charm the ear; while, by a peculiar light quick touch,
strong enough to make the hammers strike the strings even when the wind
chest is supplied with air, the performer can produce tones from the strings
without perceiving the voice of the reeds. Press down the other pedal, and
swells may be given at pleasure, more or less, to the tones proceeding from
the piano reeds; hold down a key, and its reed note will be prolonged or
sustained to any extent; when the key is down give a tremor to the finger
which is upon it. and the wire being then in contact with the leather w,
a corresponding tremor will be perceived in the note of the corresponding
piano reed. And it is the immense varity of combinations which these
various effects are susceptible of which gives a character to the pianoforte
having my improvements which none other can possess.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner
in which it is to be performed, I would observe that my Invention is equally
applicable to all ordinary pianofortes, whether grand square, as shewn in
Drawing A, or cottage, as shewn in Drawing D. Without further instructions
than any competent workman might derive from the Drawings alone, and
with the Specification also in his hand, he might add it to any kind of piano-
forte now in use, it being merelystated, in addition to the foregoing description
of the Drawings, that the ordinary pedals of the pianoforte are omitted to be
shewn in the Drawings A, B, C, merely to avoid confusion, but they may
retain their usual places, even though both my pedals be added. In some
cottage pianofortes the levers or rockers of the pedals must be brought lower
down, shortening the rod No. 1, and lengthening the rod No. 2, as shewn in
Drawings marked D and E. One of my pedals, namely, the swell pedal,
may be dispensed with, the effects of swell given by the other pedal o being
quite as good, owing to the elastic action and rising of the modulating board;
and in that case the back edge of the modulating board may be kept down by

page_text: two or more pins projecting from and inserted into the sides of the pianoforte
case, as shewn at y, y, in the Drawing marked B. And whereas, it is evident
that by the arrangement of the stickdowns of the piano reeds, and of the
eyed wires shewn in the Drawings annexed, if the name-board only be taken
away, as is customary in such cases, the whole of that part of the pianoforte
now usually called the action might be withdrawn, without the slightest
disturbance of any of those attachments which I incorporate with the bottom
or lower part of the case of the pianoforte.
And whereas I claim as my Invention, first, adding in manner and situated
as herein-before described, reeds acted upon by wind, to any ordinary piano-
forte, or incorporating reeds with it by letting them into the bottom board
or other parts of the external case of the pianoforte in such manner as not
to alter in any way or interfere with any important part of the instrument,
or with its general external appearance or form, and in such manner as not
to require the instrument to be made purposely to receive them, and in
such manner also as not to alter in any way or interfere with the ordinary
arrangement of what is called the action; and in such manner also as to
enable me to produce the tones from the reeds by the downward pressure
of the ordinary keys of the pianoforte, causing them to communicate,
through the medium only of the wires g and stickdowns s, with the valves
or pallets of the reeds under them.
Secondly, I claim the arrangement of the eyed wires and stickdowns
herein-before described, whereby 1 am enabled to do away with the
intervention of levers acted upon by the stickdowns, and to withdraw and
replace the part called the action of the pianoforte in the usual manner at
pleasure, by only removing the name-board.
Thirdly, I claim my elastic or spring modulating board, herein-before
described, either acted upon by a lever, as shewn in the Drawing marked A,
or opening more or less, and letting the sound and wind escape therefrom,
according as the air let up through the reed case is more or less powerful,
thus becoming self-regulating or self-adjusting, and also placed so near the
upper surface of the reeds as only just to allow of their vibrating without
actually coming in contact with the board, and causing (in consequence of
its springs or of it own weight) all the air that passes through the reed
case to be in a more or less condensed condition, dependant on the strength
of those springs, or of its weight, and of the force of the wind froin below.
Fourthly, I claim the producing of what is termed in music a tremulo,
by communicating a tremulous motion to the modulating board when
required, either in manner herein-before described, or otherwise.
Fifthly, I claim a wind chest, with a safety valve and springs, capable of

page_text: expansion and contraction as herein.before described, whereby the wind
supplied from the bellows, whether such bellows be double or single bellows,
is kept in a more equal state of condensation, and is less affected by the
currents of air coming into it from the supply channels than where the
wind chamber is fixed and non-elastic, and arranged in such manner that
the air contained therein is always in a state of condensation, which cannot
exceed a certain degree without opening the valve, and so regulating
itself and doing away with the necessity of double bellows.
And, lastly, I claim the application of what is called the reservoir part
in double bellows to the purpose of such an elastic wind chest in pianofortes,
fitted with my (Eolian Attachment.
And such my Invention being, to the best of my knowledge and belief
entirely new, and never before used in that part of Her Majesty's United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, Her Dominion of
Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, I do hereby declare this to be
my Specification of the same, and that I do verily believe this my said Speci-
fication doth comply in all respects, fully and without reserve or disguise,
with the proviso in the said Letters Patent contained; wherefore I do hereby
claim to maintain exclusive right and privilege to my said Invention.
In witness whereof, I have hereunio set my hand and seal, this First
day of February, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and forty-five.