IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PIANOPORTES
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PIANOPORTES."
-A communication from abroad by Frederick Mathushek, of New York,
in the United States of America.
Sealed the 27th April 1860, and dated the 30th November 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 30th November 1859.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PIANOFORTES,"
to be as follows:-
The essential features of this Invention of improvements in the construction
of pianofortes are as follows:-The case and framework of the piano are made
entirely of wood, dispensing with the usual iron plate and bars, also dispensing
with a large portion of the timber and blocks heretofore used. The case is of
peculiar shape and sweep; the wrest plank and key-board being placed

page_text: diagonally in front with the scroll shaped name board used in grand pianos
falling over the keys; the weight of the entire instrument is about 200 pounds.
The sounding board, strings, and other accessories are so arranged as to make
the same similar in action and effect to instruments of the violin class. This
is effected by making the sounding board concave, placing it with the concave
upwards, the sounding board bridges being placed on the concave side and the
strings adjusted on the same, so that they have a bearing and tension upwards
or off from the board. This produces the same relative effect upon the
board as is produced by the strings of the violin drawn over the convex
side of its board, the strain coming against the arch of the board. In
connection with this arrangement in order further to give the upward blow
of the hammers an effect corresponding with the downward motion of the
violin bow, the wrest plank bridge is removed from its usual place on the
wrest plank, and placed in an inverted position on the under side of a bar
which is fastened down upon the wrest plank, the bar being provided with
grooves on its under surface through which the strings pass in an upward and
lateral direction to the wrest pins, the strings passing over bridge pins and
breaks placed on the bridge at the mouth of the grooves. By these means the
strings have a perfect break, and the blow of the hammers drives them against
and upon the bridge instead of. tending to drive them off as heretofore arranged.
The strings also have no lateral bearing or strain on the board, as they have when
attached in the usual mode, thereby cramping the board and interfering with its
vibration. The strain and vibration of the string are vertical in the same line
with the vibratory motion of the board. The lower board or bottom in connection
with the sides of the case and the upper board, makes a closed hollow shell of
wood as thin as practicable consistently with the required strength. The wooden
framework has a degree of elasticity with stiffness which promotes the vibration
of the strings while keeping up the proper degree of tension. The tension is
more even and constant than that of the ordinary iron frame. The tone is
also more even throughout the range of the notes, and the pitch is better
maintained. The result of the whole is the production of a quality of tone essen-
tially different from that of other pianos, being more full, pure, and melodious,
with much greater power and volume. The peculiar shape or configuration
of the case which is obtained by the diagonal position of the key-board, is not
an arbitrary one, but is an essential mechanical contrivance, being a distinct
and necessary part of the Invention. .
Another feature of the Invention is making the framework which supports
the strings, viz., the hitch plate, cross bars, and other connected parts princi-

page_text: pally of wood, consisting of. thin.leaves or veneers glued together to the proper..
thickness,. and braced or strengthened by wooden ribs..
Another feature is the concave sounding board (composed of one. or more-
boards), so arranged that the resisting force of the arch of the upper board is.
opposed to the strain of the strings, the mechanical power of the board being
brought more into action as the strain is increased, thus increasing its vibratory,
power and making the vibration more clear, distinct, and responsive. In con-
nection with the above, another improvement consists in the mode of attaching
the strings upon the sounding board. by giving them a bearing directly upwards,
from the board or off from it, in whatever position the board may be turned,.
thus producing a direct counter-strain against the arch of the board.
Another feature of the Invention is the wrest. plank bar and its combination.
with the wrest plank, the arrangement of the inverted bridge under this bar
and of the breaks and screws on the other bridges for the purposes. mentioned.
respectively as to each. The above parts may be arranged, combined, and.
applied to various forms or constructions of pianofortes..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed"
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 30th May 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM.
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County.
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of November, in the year of our Lord.
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of Her
reigu, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William. Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and. at all
times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PIANOFORTES," being a communication from

page_text: abroad by Frederick Mathushek, of the City of New York, United States of
America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Edward
Newton, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in
the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
The object of this Invention, as communicated to me by my foreign corre-
spondent, is to improve the quality, increase the power and volume of tone of
pianofortes, and to render the pitch more permanent than it is now found
practicable to effect. To attain these advantages many important changes are
introduced in the construction and arrangement of several of the well-known
parts of pianofortes.
In the accompanying Drawing the changes are illustrated in connection with
a grand pianoforte; Fig. 1 being a plan view shewing so much of the instru-
ment as will serve to explain the nature of the Invention; and Fig. 2 being a
longitudinal section of the same. The ends or curved parts 1, 1, (Fig. 1) of
the case are composed of white wood or other veneers, about one-eighth of an
inch thick, glued together in the usual manner to the thickness of about five-
eighths of an inch. These are joined on the back by a straight board 2, about
three-fourths of an inch thick, and are connected in front by the key bottom 3,
the wrest plank 4, and the wrest plank bar 5, herein-after described. The
key bottom and the wrest plank are of the shape indicated in Fig. 1, and
extend into the left end of the case to which they are fitted and attached. A
rib of wood about two inches thick and three inches wide is fastened around
the middle of the back and ends of the case inside. A rail 6 of hard wood
about seven inches wide, and from one to one and a half inches thick, is fastened
upon and along the back edge of the key bottom and to the case at the ends,
leaving the space between the rail and the inner edge of the wrest plank for
the play of the hammers. In the interior is also placed a brace of stiff light
wood about three inches square extending from end to end of the case, with a
similar brace across the middle from the back to the rail; short blocks are also
fitted in the interior in the ends of the case to stiffen the same. The extreme

page_text: length of the case is about seven feet, and the width from the back to the
corner of the case in front is about three and one half feet. The name board
falls over the keys, as is usual in grand pianofortes. The advantage of this
over the old arrangement of case is, that it has greater capacity of vibration,
is lighter, and requires less material. The wrest plank 4 is made of hard
wood (by preference, maple), about one and a half inches thick and nine
inches wide at the right end. The other dimensions and its shape are indi-
cated in Fig. 1. In the grand piano the shape will be nearly the same as that
now in use. In the square piano the wrest plank is placed in front; a portion
of the upper surface of the wrest plank is cut away or depressed to the depth.
of about three-eighths of an inch to receive a bar 5, which the Inventor terms
the wrest plank bar. This cutting extends from the right end of the wrest
plank to the left end of the bar which reaches to the covered strings, and the
cutting conforms to the shape of the bar. The wrest plank bar is also made
of maple about two and a half inches thick, four inches wide at the right end,
and about five inches at the left end, of the shape indicated in Fig. 1. The
under side of this bar, which sinks into the wrest plank, has a cut or groove on
the back edge from end to end about half an inch or more deep, and increasing
in width from half an inch at the right to one inch at the left end. The rest of
the under surface of the bar has transverse grooves about three-eighths of an
inch deep and wide, running in the direction of the strings respectively, as
indicated in Fig. 1, to give the strings room to pass from the bridge to the
wrest pins 7. Instead of having a bridge on the wrest plank, an inverted
bridge 8 (Fig. 2) is placed in the longitudinal groove in the wrest plank bar
so as to run across the ends of the transverse grooves. Opposite the mouth
of each transverse groove a metallic break is fastened upon the bridge to
receive the strings. The breaks are made of brass or other wire about one-
sixteenth of an inch thick and about three-eighths of an inch long, and are
fastened to the bridge either by having bent points driven in, or by a pin
inserted through the middle. Each break is placed at right angles to the
direction of the strings it holds. Instead of these breaks a saddle with a pro-
minent ridge or apex may be cut on the bridge opposite the mouth of each
groove and the usual bridge pins inserted in the ridge or apex, and the grooves
made with sufficient slant from the direct line of the strings to give the strings
a side bearing on the pins as well as an upward bearing on the bridge. The
saddles under the treble strings may be cut on a strip of sheet brass sunk
into the bridge to make the bearing more firm. The wrest plank bar thus
furnished is fastened in the cutting or depression in the wrest plank, the object

page_text: of the depression being to give the strings the upbearing mentioned, and pro-
luce a clear break at the bridge. The string plate is shewn at 9. Its shape
will vary in the grand or other pianos suitably to the size and sweep of the
case. It may be made of hard wood (say maple), and about one and a half
inches thick. On the under side it is slightly arched to conform to the arch
of the sounding board, the two being about half an inch apart when in position.
The configuration of the inner edge is suited to the scale, and the outer
edge is closely fitted to the case. It has apertures 10 to allow the sounding
board bridges for the covered or base strings to project. The plate is cut away
under the covered strings about one inch deep, leaving ledges 11 at the right
end about half an inch below the surface, in which the hitch pins for those
strings are placed. For the purpose of hitching the other strings a rim 12
of brass or other metal or composition about one-eighth of an inch thick, and
as wide as the edge of the plate is fastened to the edge, the rim having a flange
ene-eighth of an inch thick and half an inch wide projecting horizontally from
the lower edge of its face. The flange is
strings at the points required by the scale.
screws inserted at intervals of one or one
the flange, and by a continuation of the flange or rim under the plate a few
inches, so as to insert screws therein. If the plate should be made entirely of
metal, the device for hitching the strings would be made entire with the plate.
The plate is supported and fastened in its position by glueing it to the case
and by screws passing into the rib; also by one or more small posts placed in
the interior braces coming up through the sounding board at points near the
inner edge of the plate, and one of them under the middle cross bar; a large
screw is put up through the interior brace, passing through the post and plate
into the cross bar.
pierced with holes to receive the
The rim is secured to the plate by
and a half inches around it, above
The string plate, wrest plank, and other parts are held in position against
the tension of the strings by cross bars 13 passing from the ends and middle
of the wrest plank bar over and nearly in the direction of the strings to
opposite points upon the string plate, having shoulders against the edge of the
plate and the wrest plank bar. The forward end of the plate is also fitted with
a shoulder against the right end of the wrest plank bar, and its rear end is
connected with the left end of the wrest plank by a bar similar to the other
cross bars extending along the back of the case fastened to it. These bars
may be made of wood or metal.
When wood is used, ash is preferred about
one and a half inches thick at the base and two and three-fourths of an inch
in height, narrowing from the bottom to the top with whatever style of orna-

page_text: mented surface may be desired. The longest cross bar has near its middle an
iron rod, shewn in Fig. 2, about one-half an inch thick, running down and
connecting it with the interior cross bar to stiffen it. The cross bars 13
are fastened upon the plate and the wrest plank bar with pins, glue, and
screws.
The sounding board 14 is made concave by bending it to the depth of
about three-quarters of an inch more or less at the middle. It is constructed
of the usual material and thickness, and stiffened by bending and glueing ribs
of spruce, about three-eighths of an inch thick and one inch wide transversely
across the under side at intervals of about eight inches. The edge of the
board is fastened around the back and right end of the case and to the top of
the rail 6 and the rib of the case, the board presenting its concave upwards.
In or near the bottom of the case, at about six inches below this board, a
corresponding concave board or bottom cover 15 (see Fig. 2) is placed, the same
being made of hard wood veneers about one-eighth of an inch thick, with
similar ribs on its upper side, the edges of the board or bottom cover being
fastened all around to the case and the rail. With a view to connect the
vibration of the two boards, without stiffening them too much, there is fastened
between them, near the centre, in a vertical position, a wooden spring 16,
shewn in Fig. 2, having two bent branches one-eighth to one-quarter of an
inch thick and one inch wide. Where thought desirable, the lower board may
be dispensed with.
The sounding board bridges 17 are bent to the concave of the board, and
fastened on in the usual way. The bridges for the covered strings project
through the string plate about three-eighths of an inch above the face of the
cutting. The bridge for the other strings is mounted with breaks 18, made
of brass or other wire about one-sixteenth of an inch thick cut in pieces three-
eighths of an inch long; on that part of the bridge opposite the upper treble
the breaks may be made of a continuous piece. Each break holds a pair of
strings, and is placed under them at right angles to their direction. When
placed in proper position according to the scale, the break is fastened to the
bridge by a pin through its centre. The strings are pressed down upon the
breaks by means of screws 19 inserted in the bridge about half an inch behind
the breaks and between the strings, the screws having flattened oval heads of
sufficient size each to cover two strings. With the view of making the
bearing more even, two of these breaks may be used for each pair of strings,
the same being placed about one inch apart on the bridge, and depressing the
strings between them by means of the screws, or by a cap screwed down over

page_text: the strings. The string is passed through the hole in the flange of the plate, then
downwards under the screw head and over the break, thence along and upwards
over the break in the wrest plank bar, and through the groove to the wrest
pin. The string has thus an upbearing from the sounding board bridge in
both directions; the degree of this elevation will vary according to the depth
of the concave of the sounding board. The elevation from the bridge to the
string plate may be about three-eighths of an inch; the covered strings cross
over a portion of the others, and are hitched at the right end by the usual pins
inserted in the ledge 11 of the plate and by hitch pins on the bridges, and at
the left end by the usual arrangement of bridges and pins; but they have
also an upbearing from the sounding board bridges similar to the other strings.
Although it has been found advantageous to make the string plate, wrest
plank, wrest plank bar, and cross bars of wood, as herein described, yet the
parts may be made of metals, or a combination of metals, or of wood and
metals or other materials, the thickness of the parts being varied according
to the relative strength of the materials used. The improvements in the
sounding board, string plate, wrest plank, wrest plank bar, and cross bars, and
in the bridges and breaks and mode of attaching the strings herein described,
will be found equally applicable to square, grand, and all other styles of the
pianoforte.
The effect of this Invention is, that the framework, including the case,
string plate, wrest plank, and all the bars and cross bars, has greater strength
for the uses of the pianoforte combined with lightness than heretofore
attained, and requires much less material. The mechanical structure and
acoustic qualities of the instrument are both improved and brought into
harmony; if made of wood, the resistance of the framework to the vibratory
motion of the strings will not be so rigid as that of iron; its elasticity will
enable the parts to yield slightly to the increased tension of the strings under the
blow of the hammers, but immediately to react. The vibratory motion of the
strings will for the same reason be increased and prolonged; the wooden
framework will be less liable than a-metallic one to contract and expand with
changes of temperature, and the instrument will consequently better maintain
its pitch of tone.
The sounding board, as here arranged, gives increased volume of sound and
length of vibration, the peculiar construction of the case also contributing to
the same result; the tension of the strings in opposition to the resistance of
the arch of the board causes the same to respond with power and clearness to
the blow of the hammers. By the arrangement of the inverted bridge and

page_text: breaks in the wrest plank bar, the upward blow of the hammers drives
the string upon the bridge, making the break more perfect than when
driven off.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "Improvements in the
Construction of Pianofortes," as communicated to me by foreign cor-
respondent, and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish
it to be understood that, under the above in part recited Letters Patent, I
claim the means above described for improving the quality and increasing the
power and volume of tone of pianofortes, and rendering the pitch of such
instruments more permanent than is usually attainable.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)