IMPROVEMENTS IN PIANOFORTES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Mason Johnston Matthews, of Glasgow, in the
County of Lanark, North Britain, Musical Instrument Maker, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PIANOFORTES."
Sealed the 15th April 1868, and dated the 19th October 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Mason Johnston Matthews
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
19th October 1867.
I, MASON JOHNSTON MATTHEWS, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark,
North Britain, Musical Instrument Maker, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PIANOFORTES," to be as follows, that
is to say:
This Invention has principally for its object to obtain in pianofortes by an
improved construction a greatly increased stability of the case or frame, which
resists the strain due to the tension of the strings, together with additional
power and improved quality of tone; and the features of novelty are, firstly,
the disposing of the strings in duplicate or in two sets arranged back to back,
as it were, those on one side thus resisting and balancing the tendency which
those on the other side have to bend the frame,combined with the adaptation
to such duplicate strings of one or more and by preference two sound boards
held in position solely by the pressure of the strings; secondly, the fixing of
the bridge pieces on the sound boards; and, thirdly, the application to such
.. 077

page_text: duplicate strings of corresponding duplicate hammers arranged to be actuated
by means of one set of keys or by means of two sets of keys.
The improvements are susceptible of various modifications in their practical
carrying out. As the bracings of the main frame will be subject only to a
compressive strain and not to a berding strain,as in ordinary instruments,
they may be made of comparatively less strength and cost; they may be
arranged in the ordinary way or in the form of a stout board or partition made
with apertures for the passage across of the sound vibrations and forthestruts
or studs connecting the sound boards on each side. The strings or wires on
one side of the frame may be quite distinct and separate from those on the
other side, the strings on one side may have one of their ends or their loops
held on the pins on which are held the ends or loops of the corresponding
strings on the other side,such pins being fixed along the middle of the outside
or edge of the frame,whilst the other ends of the strings are fixed on wrist
pins, by means of which they can be tuned; or one wire may in each case be
passed round or over the end or edge of the frame to form the corresponding
strings on both sides. The arrangements for actuating the duplicate hammers
may be a simple extension of the ordinary pianoforte action, the movements
being communicated to what may be termed the back set of hammers either
by wires passing across through perforations in the sound boards and bracing
or by connections carried round the outside of the frame.
A portion of the advantages of the Invention may be obtained by using a
single set of hammers with the duplicate wires, in which case the wires at
the back may be fewer and stronger than in front; further, when two sets of
hammers are used, actuated from one set of keys, the individual hammers
of each pair may be arranged to strike either simultaneously or one after the
other, producing in the latter case a repetition of the note.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Mason Johnston Matthews in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 17th April 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MASON
JOHNSTON MATTHEWS, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Musical Instrument Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of

page_text: Her reign did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Mason Johnston Matthews, Her special licence that I, the said Mason
Johnston Matthews,iny executors, administrators, and assigns,or such others as
I,thesaid Mason Johnston Matthews, myexecutors, 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 "Im
PROVEMENTS IN PIANOFORTES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Mason Johuston Matthews, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly 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
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Mason Johnston Matthews, do hereby
declare the nature of iny said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement in writing, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, that is to say:-
My said Invention has principally for its object to obtain in pianofortes, by
an improved construction, a greatly increased stability of the case or frame,
which resists the strain due to the tension of the strings, together with
additional power and improved quality of tone.
The principal features of novelty comprised in my said Invention are,
firstly, the disposing of the stringsin duplicate or in two sets arranged back to
back as it were, those on one side thus resisting and balancing the tendency
which those on the other side have to bend the frame, combined with the
adaptation to such duplicate strings of one, or more, and by preference two
sound boards, held in position solely by the pressure of the strings; secondly,
the fixing of the bridge pieces or some of them on the sound boards; and
thirdly, the application to such duplicate strings of corresponding duplicate
hammers, arranged to be actuated by means of one set of keys, or by means
of two sets of keys.
And in order that my said Invention and the manner of performing the
same may be properly understood, I have hereunto appended a Sheet of
explanatory Drawings to be herein-after referred to, and representing by way
of example two of the various modifications of which my improved arrange-
ments are susceptible:

page_text: Figure 1 is a vertical section, as taken from back to front, of a portion of
a pianoforte of what is termed the "cottage" class, as fitted with my
improvements.
In this example the arrangement of the strings A, a, and hammers B, b, is
inverted as compared with that ordinarily adopted in this class of pianoforte;
it is a convenient and suitable arrangement for the application of my improve-
ments, particularly from its admitting of a simple connection of the front and
back" actions; " but it must be understood that my improvements are also
advantageously applicable with other arrangements of the strings and
hammers, and to other classes of pianofortes besides the "cottage" variety.
In the accompanying Drawing similar reference letters are used to mark
similar parts, and whilst capitals mark parts towards the front, the corre-
sponding italics are used to mark the corresponding duplicate parts towards
the back. The strings A, a, are stretched upon a main frame C, which is
fixed or held in any convenient way between the gables (D) or vertical side
pieces of the external casing of the pianoforte. Bracings or struts E, are
applied as usual between the bottom and top bars of the frame C, but as these
bracings will be subject to a compressive strain only, and not to a bending
strain as in ordinary instruments, they may be made of comparatively less
strength and cost. They may be arranged in the ordinary way; or in the
form of a stout board or partition made with apertures for the passage across
of the sound vibrations, and for the struts or studs connecting the sound
boards on each side and herein-after referred to. The strings or wires A, on
one side of the main frame C, may be quite distinct and separate from those a
on the other side; but I prefer to arrange them as represented in Figure 1,
that is, with the bottom ends or loops of both sets on a single set of pins F,
fixed along the middle of the outside or edge of the bottom bar of the main
frame C, whilst the other ends of the strings are fixed on wrist pins G, g, by
means of which they can be tuned, such wrist pins being set in the top bar of
the frame. If preferred, the wrist pins g of the back strings a, may be
extended through to the front of the frame, in order that the tuning keymay
be more conveniently applied to them. Instead of separate strings or
wires A, a, being used for the front and for the back a single wire may in
each case be passed round or over the end or edge of the frame C to form the
corresponding strings on both sides. There are two sound boards H, h, which
are entirely supported by the gripping pressure of the two sets of strings A, a,
one being at the front and the other at the back of the bracings E. The
sound boards are connected by strips at the top, bottom, and sides, and by
struts J, which take the compressing strain. The top and bottom strips are

page_text: arranged so as to leave a clear open space round each bracing E. The
bridges K, L, k, l, are in the present example shown as being all fixed on the
sound boards H, h, but it may be preferred in some cases to fix the lower ones
on the main frame C. The arrangements delineated for actuating the front
hammers B, are such as constitute an ordinary pianoforte "action" and will
be easily understood by the pianoforte maker; whilst those shown for actuating
the back hammers b, are precisely similar but reversely disposed. The long
levers M, the front ends of which constitute the finger keys, are prolonged in-
wards a little beyond the points at which the hoppers N of the front "action"
are fixed to them; and they have resting on their inner ends the front ends of
similar levers m, which carry and actuate the hoppers n of the back "action."
In the modification shown in Figure 1, the position of the main frame C, and
the arrangement of the wires and the "actions" admits of the simple
connection between the two "actions" that has just been described; but the
movements might in other cases be communicated to the back set of
hammers b, either by wires passing across through perforations in the sound
boards and bracing or by other connections carried round the outside of the
frame.
A portion of the advantages of my Invention may be obtained by using a
single set of hammers with the duplicate wires, in which case the wires at the
back may be fewer and stronger than in front. This modification will be
easily understood from Figures 2 and 3, which are views at right angles to
each other, the latter being in section. The few strong back wires a, are
fixed to a plate P, which is set on the pins F, being formed with holes for the
purpose. The front wires A are looped on the pins F on the outside of the
plate P. When two sets of hammers are used and actuated from one set of
keys the individual hammers of each pair may be arranged (by well under-
stood adjustments) to strike either simultaneously or one after the other,
producing in the latter case a repetition of the note.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I have to state that I do not restrict
myself to the precise details herein described or delineated, but that what I
believe to be novel and original and claim as the Invention secured to me by
the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
1. The disposing of the strings of a pianoforte in duplicate, combined with
the holding of one or more sound boards by and between such duplicate
strings, substantially as herein-before described.
2. The fixing of the bridge pieces, or some of them, on the sound boards,
substantially as herein-before described,

page_text: And 3. The application to such duplicate strings of corresponding duplicate
hammers and their "actions," to be actuated by one or by two sets of keys
and arranged substantially as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I the said Mason Johnston Matthews, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT,
Patent Agent,
Glasgow.
MASON J. MATTHEWS. (LS.)