CERTAIN FURTHER IMPROVE- MENTS ON PIANOFORTES AND HARPS
Year: 1810

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SEBASTIAN
ERARD, of Great Marlborough Street, in the County of Middlesex, send
greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third, by His
Letters Patent under the Greal Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Second day of May, in the
fiftieth year of His reign, did give and grant unto me, the said Sebastian
Erard, my exors, adñññors, and assigns, His especial licence, full power, sole
privilege and authority that 1, the said Sebastian Erard, my exors, admors,
and assigns, should and lawfully might, during the term of years therein
mentioned, make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN FURTHER IMPROVE-
MENTS ON PIANOFORTES AND HARPS;" in which said Letters Patent there is
contained a proviso, that if I, the said Sebastian Erard, shall not particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, and cause the same to be enrolled in His Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of
the said Letters Patent, that then the said Letters Patent, and all liberties and
advantages whatsoever thereby granted, shall utterly cease, determine, and
become void, as in and by the said recited Letters Patent, relation being there-
unto had, may more fully and at large appear: And whereas His said most
Excellent Majesty, by others His Letters Patent, under the Great Seal of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date the Twenty-fourth

page_text: day of September, in the forty-eighth year of His reign, did give and grant
unto me, the said Sebastion Erard, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, His especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Sebastian
Erard, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, should and lawfully might, during the
term of years therein mentioned, make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of certain
improvements upon pianofortes, large and small, and upon harps; in which
said Letters Patent was contained a proviso, that if I, the said Sebastian
Erard, should not particularly describe and ascertain the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, by an instru-
ment in writing under my hand and seal, and cause the same too enrolled in
His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said now-reciting Letters Patent, that then
the said Letters Patent, and all liberties and advantages whatsoever, should
utterly cease, determine, and become void, as in and by the said now-recited
Letters Patent, relation being thereunto had, may more fully and at large
appear: And whereas I, the said Sebastian Erard, in compliance with the said
last-mentioned proviso, did, on or about the Twenty-fourth day of March, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and nine, cause a certain
instrument under my hand and seal, containing a particular description of my
said Invention, and the manner of performing the same as aforesaid, to be so
enrolled in His Majesty's said High Court.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso first herein
mentioned and contained in the said first-recited Letters Patent, I, the said
Sebastian Erard, do hereby declare that the nature of my first-mentioned
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are parĭlarly
described and ascertained as follows, that is to say:-
Firstly, I do construct and dispose the internal machinery and pedals of my
harps according to the methods and principles set forth in my former Patent
herein mentioned and referred to, excepting that I do make such needful
changes in the proportions and relative situations of the several parts thereof,
and the offect and operation of the external machinery herein-after described
may require, and concerning which changes sufficient instruction may be derived
from the Drawings hereunto annexed, Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, compared with the
Drawings annexed to the Specification of my said former Patent.
And, secondly, I'do produce the semitones upon the several strings respectively
by the apparatus described in Fig. 3, under the several numbers, No. 1, and
No. 2, and No. 3; and in each of the said numbers the same letters of the
alphabet denote the same things. A, H, represents the chord or string attached

page_text: at top to the tuning pin A, and bearing against the bridge pin B, whence in
No. 1 the same passes clear downwards, without any other contact or pressure
between the bridge pin and its lower extremity, and in this state it will give its
lowest or flattest note. Fig. 3, No. 2, shews the situation or position of the
same parts, after the first action of the pedal has produced a change in the
position of F by means of its arbor or axis, and by the necessary consequence
of the connection from G to D and from D to C (controuled by the lever E, D,
of which the centre E is fixed), the forked piece C is made to revolve, and firmly
touches the chord, and thereby produces the next semitone above the former,
namely, the natural note, and by reason of the right-lined position of the lower
E, D, and the connecting piece D, C, the forked piece C is kept with great
stability in its position. Fig. 3, No. 8, shews the situation or position produced
by the second action of the pedal, by which the forked piece F has been made,
by a farther revolution, to embrace the chord, and the chord being now still
shorter than before, will give the second semitone above that of the open
string, namely, the sharp noto. Fig. 3, No. 4, shews my improvement in
putting on and fixing the forked pieces, which I put upon a plain round steni,
and secure them from turning on the stem by a cross pin or screw through
both, as shewn by the dark spot or hole in Fig. 4; the same parts are shewn
and indicated by the same letters in a cross section of the framing of the
harp; and in the same Figure, J, K, denotes a pin, which may be substituted
instead of the pins A and B; and the said pin J, K, hath the chord attached
thereto, and is capable of having its extremity K raised to a small space, and
by that means to raise the chord one half tone in its pitch; and for this purpose
I do pass the end or part I of the said pin through a brass or metallic socket,
made to fit well and tightly by the structure hereafter described, which socket
is so supported as to afford the angular motion at K, by a motion of the socket
upon a pin or otherwise, as a centre; or otherwise, I do allow the said pin to
move, not angularly, but constantly parallel to itself, by connecting the same
and its socket with two cqual arms proceeding from another pin or axis at a
small distance and parallel to it. L is a spring for supporting by its re-action
à considerable part of the pressure of the said pin, and thereby rendering it
more easy to be raised; and in order to raise the same, I take away the forked
piece C; and prolong the piece or bar D, C, so as to come into contact by a
notched or socket termination under the pin K; and by virtue of this arrange-
ment, the first movement of F, by bringing E, D, and D, C, into one straight
line, performs the left and produces the first semitone, and the second move-
ment of F produces the second semitone as before; and I do produce the same
effect by turning the said pin instead of raising the same, in which case the

page_text: pin must be fixed, and the action of must be made upon a short lever
at K. And I do further declare that the apparatus or compound-piece,
described in Fig. 3 aforesaid, may be very advantageously applied in harps
which contain two ranges of connecting pieces, such as are shewn at the lower
part of Fig. 1, between the levers or crank pieces A, A, A, A, and which are
or 'may be intended to be worked or moved one range after the other; for, in
that case, I do make use of the said apparatus or compound piece to connect
the said ranges at their said extremities, so that the part C shall be joined to
one of the said ranges, and the part F to the other, and shall, of consequence,
produce in the said ranges respectively such separate motions as have already
been described and set forth. And I do make and construct barps, in the
internal parts whereof the needful changes herein firstly mentioned are made,
in order to adapt the same to work the machinery of Figs. 3 and. 5, & I-do
put on and apply the forked piece F only thereto; or otherwise I do apply the
two forked pieces and apparatus to one or more notes only, according to the
choice of the purchaser or proprietors, and I do, at any time afterwards, as
may be desired, put on and apply more of my said improvements, or the
compleat series thereof. Fig. 5, No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6, represents certain
variations of the means; or different means, of producing the said semitones,
which may be used in such parts of the harp as the dimensions thereof or space
allowed may render convenient or desirable.
And, thirdly, I do allow more space for the hand in the interval between
the neck and the belly of the harp than has or could. be heretofore obtained;
for which purpose I remove the machinery for the upper notes, Fig. 2, to the
side furthest from the hand, by causing the bars regularly proceeding from
the connection with the pedals respectively to terminate each in a lover 'pro-
ceeding from an arbor across the instrument; & I do carry the communication
or upper part of the bars from another lever proceeding from the same arbor,
but nearer the side of the instrument furthest from, the hand; & in order to
show this course more clearly, I have made the connecting parts of different
colours, which renders all further.explanation-unnecessary.
Fourthly, Fig. 6 represents an adjustment for the fulcrum of the pedal.
A, B, is a piece which is in part filed away, so as to apply-to-the-bar-D, E,
of 'the pedal, while it passes through a perforated piece C, B; the picce A, B,
has a screw beneath, upon which the pedal bar bears; and may be made to
rest higher or lower by turning the screw, and the perforated piece is fixed
in its proper and correct place by the two screws in its face. Letter f, ff, f
ffff in the same Figure, shews the method of fixing the spring on the
pedal, to produce more easily the double motion which the pedal requires.
'

page_text: Fifthly, I do make the pins of harps and of pianofortes much more smooth
and easy in their motions, and to stand better in tune than heretofore, by
causing the same to move in a collar and socket, represented in Fig. 7,
which fits upon the pin and into a groove turned in the same, and is capable
of being bound with a firm hold by a small screw; and I do make the square
ends of the pins with greater precision and economy by fixing upon the pin
itself a piece of square brass, or other fit metal, secured in its place by one
or more small rivets passing through both.
And, lastly, Fig. 8 represents a damper for the chords of the harp, which
consists of a small piece A, of leather or other fit substance, at the extremity
of a spring, which by preference I make spiral, and by which the leather is
disposed to press against the chord or string, and the same is regulated by the
action of a piece with projecting arms, one for each damper, which, by a slight
motion backwards or forwards, either permits the dampers to rise or keeps
them down.
In witness whereof, I, the said Sebastian Erard, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Second day of November, One thousand eight
year of our Lord 1810, the aforesaid Sebastian Erard came before our said
Lord the King in IIis Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification aforesaid,
and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above written.
And also the Specification aforesaid was stampt according to the tenor of the
Statute made for that purpose.