CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS ON HARPS
Year: 1822

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PIERRE
ERARD, of Great Marlborough Street, in the County of Middlesex, Musical
Instrument Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth did, by
His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of that part of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland called England, bearing date at Westminster,
the Twenty-fourth day of April, One thousand eight hundred and twenty-
two, in the third year of His reign, give and grant unto me, the said Pierre
Erard, my exors, adññors, and assigns, His especial licence, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that I, the said Pierre Erard, my exors, admors, and
assigns, during the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS ON HARPS,"
part of which improvements were communicated to me by a certain Foreigner
residing abroad, and partly my own invention; in which said Letters Patent
there is contained a proviso that if I, the said Pierre Erard, shall not
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the 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 inrolled 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 same (relation being
thereunto had) will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Pierre Erard, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Improvements on
Harps, and the manner in which the same are to be produced and carried into
effect, are particularly described and ascertained in and by the Drawings
hereunto annexed, and the following description thereof (that is to say):
--
The great superiority of Mr. Sebastian Erard's construction of harps, as
well for durability as simplicity, is so well known that it may appear any
deviation from it must be attended with injury to its solidity or inconvenience
to the performer; but the object of the present Patent is to introduce certain
improvements into the harp as already constructed by him, and I therefore
now designate the harp to be made and produced according to this Specifica-
tion, "Sebastian Erard's Patent Improved Harp." One of the principal
objects in the present Patent Invention has been to give as much strength and
stability to the neck of the harp as possible, so as to prevent derangement of
the mechanism, for which purpose a new movement has been contrived to
be applied to and operated upon the strings that produce the notes in the
treble. This motion is shewn in Fig. 2, where a shews the string when flat
or open, 6 its position when natural, c when raised to its sharp tone. The
main axis or arbour is shewn in section at d, Fig. 3, and in a detached state
at d in Fig. 1, and it is moved in the usual way by leaders, cranks, and
connecting rods in the inside of the neck of the harp. Upon its external end
next the front plate is mounted the arm and pin for producing the sharp
tone, in the manner shewn at c in Fig. 2, and the great length of radius which
this arm admits prevents its coming close enough for the string to produce a
jar in the natural position, which was often the case when upper and lower
stops were mounted on distant centres for the treble strings. This main arbour
is made hollow to receive the spindle or arbour ƒ of an upper disc g that carries
two points to answer the purpose of a fork for producing the natural tone in
the manner shewn at b, Fig. 2. And another merit of this part of the Inven-
tion consists in combining the two arbours in the space of one, by which less
wood is cut out in the neck, and much less room occupied.
Fig. 1 exhibits the different parts forming the apparatus above mentioned
in an unconnected state, and on a larger scale, in order to shew the manner
of putting the same together, and communicating the motion. d is the main
arbour with the arm e carrying a pin to produce the sharp tone fixed upon it
It may be so fixed by means of the two screws h, h, which pass some distance
into the arbour, or with two small screws parellel to its axis, as at i. The
motion given as aforesaid to the main arbour is carried to the upper disc g to
effect the natural tone by a connecting link k operating upon the crank or tum

page_text: bler l, which, by its opposite end, carries it to the upper disc g by another con-
necting link m; this tumbler moves on a stud or pin screwed into the front
of the neck plate, and the joints in the said crank or tumbler must correspond
with the planes of the two discs g and e, as shewn by the profile or side view
of the same at L. The arbourf of the upper disc g is prevented from drawing
out by being tapped into the main arbour d, but not screwed home, so that it
is at liberty to turn.
Fig. 3 is a transverse section through the neck of the harp, as I now
construct them, shewing that the wood may be brought down on a level
with the lower edge of the back plate for a certain distance at the treble
end of the instrument for encreasing its strength, and Fig. 4 shews a similar
section through the upper end or bass part of the neck for shewing some
further improvements that have been made, consisting chiefly in the mode of
forming or fixing the main arbours n and o, to prevent their shaking endwise
or jaring; and, secondly, in the turning or rest pins p, p, and q, q, which,
by being formed as cylindrical screws, with sharp threads instead of tapering
pegs, have the effect of keeping the strings at the same distance from the front
brass plate r, r, whether the string be more or less wound up, because as the
distance of the threads of these screw pins are equal to the diameter of the
strings that are to wind upon them, the strings will always descend in the same
perpendicular direction. This particular formation of rest pin obviates the
necessity of using the usual studs for the string to bear over, as it answers the
joint purpose of turning and supporting the string in its proper position.
In using these screw rest pins they should be screwed in as far as the
collars before the string is put upon them, and in this position the hole near t
for the string to pass through must be at the proper distance that the string is
to remain from the front brass plate. The string being now passed through
such hole is to be wound up or turned by unscrewing the screw rest pin, or
turning it in the contrary way to which it had been before turned by the square
formed on its head for that purpose, the string will consequently wind from the
brass plate with the same rapidity as the hole through which the string was
passed approaches it, by which the said string is constantly retained in the
same position. The string may be equally well wound up or tuned by
turning the rest pin in the contrary direction, or screwing it inwards; but
in this case there should be no collar s next to the square, but either it
or a pin or some other stop should be introduced at v, and the string
should be put on when that stop is close to the neck, the string hole being
at its proper distance from the neck, as aforesaid. But the former I consider
as the best process.

page_text: The letters o and n, in Fig. 4, shew the manner in which I now construct
and fix the arbours, o being the main or lower arbour, to which motion is given
by cranks, leaders, and pedals in the usual way. To fix this lower arbour in
its place, and prevent shake in the direction of its length, I cause a small
groove like u to be formed in the main arbour, as shewn in the seperate
figro of it at o, and also shewn in transverse section, through which groove at w
a plate, equal in thickness to the width of the groove, and having a notch
made in it so as to fit the groove of the arbour, as at x, is next inserted
into the groove, and then secured in its place by being screwed screwed by
the screw on to the inside of the front plate.
Fig. 17 shews another contrivance for producing the same effect, and at the
same time securing the disc on the end of the arbor. This is effected by
a small steel screw, shewn at a, being inserted in the joint between the
disc and the arbor, so that one half of its diameter may be imbedded in the one
and the other half in the other; the point of this screw projects thro' the
disc and enters slightly into the face of the small metal washer or ring, shewn
detached at b and c, in order to press the said washer against the face of the
front plate, so as to keep the arbour tight and free from shaking. The upper
arbours, one of which is shewn at n, are tapped, or have a male screw formed
on one of their bearings in the brass plates, which enters a female screw
formed in the substance of either of the said plates. In the Drawing it is
shewn as screwing into the back plate, as at A; this effectually prevents
shake endwise or jar, and the screw at A must not be screwed home, but
must admit of sufficient revolving motion in the arbour. The advantages
attendant upon these modes of construction are, that the arbours n and o will
at all times be equally free to move or revolve, notwithstanding any expansion
or contraction that may take place in the thickness of the materials of the
neck of the harp. And the upper arbour n may be taken out from the front
side at any time, for the facility of adjusting, cleaning, or repairing of it.
On account of the upper arbour n requiring to be turned round to introduce
it into its place, the connecting link between the upper disc or fork and the
crank must not be rivetted: as heretofore to the joints of these pieces, but
must be attached to them by small screws, as shewn separately. at B, and as
will be more distinctly seen at B in Fig. 5, which is a front view of part of a
single string.:
Fig. 6 shews the external appearance of another improvement, now made
upon the harp, which I call an index or indicator. This I apply upon
that part
of the pillar of the harp which is addressed towards the face of the performer in
using the instrument. Thus H, H, represents part of the pillar of a harp upon

page_text: which is placed the said new description of index or indicator as aforesaid, to
shew at one glance the key in which the harp has been put, the formation and
decomposition of the different scales which are complete upon the instrument,
and establishes a sort of connexion or resemblance between the instrument
and the characters on the music paper; and I consider that this index or
indicator unites advantages which have not been combined in any other
contrivance of this sort for harps. Fig. 6 gives the outward appearance of
this indicator as it appears in its complete state, when the harp is in the key
of C natural. As a general rule, the last letter of the lowest row or line of
Roman capital letters is the tonic or key-note of the scale, whether major or
minor, in which the harp may happen to stand; so that in the present
instance the last letter C indicates that the harp is in C natural. Immediately
under the said letters a row of seven naturals appears, which shew that the
seven strings are all natural, and as they are placed in the line numbered II.,
it shews that to obtain these sounds from the strings all the pedals have been
put in their second position, or middle notch. When the harp is required to
be in seven flats, then all the flats must appear in the upper range or line
number I., which shews that these sounds are obtained on the strings when
all the pedals are up, or in their first or highest position; and where the harp
placed in the key of seven sharps, then the range of seven sharps would
appear in the lower range or line number III., shewing that these sounds are
obtained when the pedals are all down on the last notch or lowest position.
From this arrangement it follows that in any scale where there are flats,
naturals, and sharps, they appear each of them in their proper range or row
without being intermixed or confused, which in my idea is calculated to shew
very clearly the formation of all scales, major and minor. The range of
capital italick, or writing letters, between the two rows of numeral figures,
will serve to shew how the different scales succeed each other, both in the
direct and retrograde order; for instance, taking the harp as the index is
described to stand in the key of C natural, if one should wish to modulate
into the flat keys, the only thing to do is to raise the pedals following the retro-
grade order of the numbers, shewn in the upper line of the Figure as proceeding
from right to left, which shews that the pedal acting on the B'strings is to go
off first, and will give one flat; E is to go next, which will give two flats;
A goes next, and gives three flats, and so on until all the seven flats are
obtained. To modulate into into keys with sharps the pedals must be put
into the third or lowest position successively, in the order indicated by the
lower range of numerical figures, which indicates that the F pedal is to be
first put down to produce the first sharp. Number 2 indicates the next sharp,

page_text: which is C, making two sharps, and so on until seven sharps are obtained,
whence it is evident that to proceed in a direct order of ascending fifths from
seven flats to seven sharps, the lower line of numerals is the guide to be
followed in putting down the pedals, one after the other, in order to take off
the flats or make the naturals appear, and afterwards to take off the naturals
to make the sharps appear, and that to go back or in a retrograde order from
seven sharps to seven flats the retrograde order of the numerals, as they
occur in the upper line, must be followed; that is to say, that the first sharp
to be taken off is B, the second E, and so on until all the sharps have disap-
peared, which same order is to be followed again to take off the naturals,
taking off B first, which will make the first flat appear, then taking off E,
which will make the second flat appear, and so on until all the naturals are
gone and all the flats have appeared. It will be found, as before observed,
that throughout these different changes of keys, either major or minor, the
last letter of the lower line or range will indicate the key the harp is in. When
all the pedals are up, all the moveable Roman letters for the tonics or key-notes
are out of sight, and the only one remaining is the C with a flat marked within
it, thus C, shewing that the harp is set in the key of C flat. Whilst these
several operations are performing in the parts of the index as above described,
the different characters of flats, naturals, and sharps will also appear in succes-
sion on the stave of five music lines, drawn or marked above or below the
letters or figures, as shewn in Figures 6 and 10; and I also occasionally intro-
duce musical notes to appear on the said stave, as shewn in Fig. 10, all which
establish the connexion or resemblance before alluded to between the music
paper and the instrument, which I anticipate will be of service to beginners.
This advantage can only be completely obtained by marking the musical staves
and clefs upon some convenient part of the harp, and forms an essential part
of my present Invention, as the musical lines or staves and clefs have never
been so used before for this purpose.
It may be observed that the flats in the index, Fig. 6, will appear in retro-
grade order, or from left to right, which inconvenience I consider as amply
compensated for by the clear idea of the composition and decomposition of the
different scales which this contrivance conveys to the observer. I shall, how-
ever, hereafter give the mechanical means of making the flats appear in their
usual order. The external appearance of such an index is shown at Fig. 10,
where there are two ranges of musical staves instead of one. In the upper stave
the sharps and naturals are to appear, or the musical notes (if marked), at
pleasure, and the lower stave is reserved for the flats only and mucical notes,

page_text: or vice versa.
In this index there is only one range of numeral figures,
serving both for the flats and for the sharps and for the two rows of letters,
which in this index are immoveable. The upper is the tonics or key-notes for
the naturals and sharps, and the lower for the flats only. The last flat, natural,
or sharp, as they may appear, point out the tonic or key-note in the same
perpendicular line. The index or indicator I place on the pillar of the harp,
at the most conspicuous place to look at when sitting to the instrument; and
and in order to effect this a new construction and arrangement of the pedals
and leaders of the action from them to the mechanism in the neck has been
necessary, which is fully explained as follows:-The index consists of two thin
plates of metal, ivory, or other suitable material, disposed one behind the
other; Fig. 7 shews the exterior plate, or that next the eye, as it appears
when taken off the pillar of the harp, and the spaces coloured yellow indicate
perforations or openings made in this plate for the sliding pieces, herein-
after mentioned, to appear through: The smaller spaces are shewn in rect-
angular, but may be made of any other convenient shape; but the large
space K must be of sufficient capacity to permit all the flats, naturals, and
sharps engraved or marked upon the under plate M, Fig. 8, to be seen at
the same time through it. The plate M is immoveably fixed, as well as the
exterior plate, to the pillar H, H, in the manner shewn at N, N, Fig. 9, which
is meant to represent a transverse section of the pillar through the middle of
the index. In order to cause those flats, naturals, or sharps only to appear
when necessary, as herein-before described, I employ a set of seven sliders,
formed of wood or other fit material, as at P, in Fig. 8, and shewn in section
at P, p, as well as at Fig. 9, in which last Figo they are drawn in their
proper places. They are attached to the wires or rods Q, Q, passing up the
pillar in the new direction and situation shewn at Fig. 9, by pins or rivets x, x,
as shewn in the Figures. These pins or rivets pass into notches filed in the
opposite sides of the wires or rods Q, Q, by which the sliders are secured upon
the rods; whenever, therefore, a pedal rises or falls it must produce a rise
or fall in its correspondant slider. The sliders move up and down imme-
diately behind the plate M, and upon the front of each slider are fixed two
thin slips of metal, ivory, or other proper material, in such manner as to
overlap the front of the plate M, as shewn in the side view of the slider at y, y.
These thin slips do not meet each other, but leave a sufficient space or
opening to exhibit one of the signs only that are marked upon the plate M,
as will be clearly seen at two places in the front view, Fig 8, where two of the
sliders only are shewn, one exhibiting a flat through its opening, and the
other a sharp. Upon each of the thin slips fixed on the face of the sliders,
*

page_text: and immediately above the opening *, one of the seven key letters is marked
as aforesaid; and at such a distance above the said last-mentioned key letters
as to correspond or come opposite the small rectangular openings in the
external plate, are marked a flat, a natural, or musical note at pleasure, and a
sharp, so that one only of them can be visible through each of the said
openings at the same time, and that one will accord with the position of its
pedal, as already described.
Fig. 11 shews the mechanism to be applied to the sliders for working them
in a manner corresponding with the scales as marked on the external index
plate, Fig. 10, in which the flats and sharps appear in their regular order. To
produce this effect six of the sliders (otherwise constructed as before described)
are divided in the middle, and the pieces bearing corresponding letters upon
them are united and connected by small levers and links in such manner
that when the left-hand slider, marked F, for carrying a sharp, is elevated, it
will produce a corresponding depression in the right-hand slider, marked F,
and carrying a flat, and so on for the other five, the central slider being the
only one that is not divided in the middle, but moves in one entire piece. The
central levers are all mounted upon one common pin or stud firmly fixed in
the side of the pillar or any other convenient place, as shewn in the side view
of the same at Fig. 12, but in this construction of index the top or bottom
halves only of the sliders, with the exception of the D or central one, must be
attached to the wires or rods as aforesaid. In this arrangement the flats,
sharps, or musical notes are marked on the front of the sliders themselves, so
as to appear in their proper order through holes made for that purpose in the
two staves marked on Fig. 10, which holes are also colored yellow in the said
Figure. The pedals of the harp, as they are usually disposed, would not
move the said sliders of the index in the regular order of the scales above
mentioned, it therefore requires a new arrangement and construction of them,
which is contrived as follows:-The upper line of Roman capital letters in
Fig. 13 shows the order in which the pedals must act to operate upon the
index, and the dotted lines communicating to the severl pedals (shewn in
plan by the blue lines) lead down to the pedals that operate upon each note,
which, it will be seen, are disposed in the accustomed order for the feet of the
performer, as shewn by the lower line of Roman capital letters under the
Figure. The black dots marked on the pedals shew the points where the rods
are attached to them, and the Figure is sufficiently clear to show the arrange-
ment I now use without any further explanation, except to observe that from
the E pedal coming so much out of the line of arrangement, I now use an
auxiliary or additional arm or crank to it with seperate bearings, as colored

page_text: yellow, by which means the black dot, shewing its point of operation, is
brought into its proper situation under the letter E in the upper line of letters
in the Figure.
Figure 14 is a side view or profile of the centre lines of the longest, and
shortest pedals, for shewing the utmost angular motion that they have between
their centres of motion A and C and extreme exterior ends Z, Z, and and also
shewing the relative proportional distances of the centres, in order to produce
equal quantities of motion at the points a and c, to which the rods or wires
passing up the pillar are attached.
In Figs. 15 and 16 the letters x, y, shew a section and plan of a new con-
trivance which I have introduced for enabling the harp to stand equally well
and firm in an inclined as in a perpendicular position, and by which the per-
former is relieved from a considerable portion of the weight of the instrument
in using it, in a simpler manner than hitherto done. This is effected by means
of two iron or other metallic bars, which slide through the two hinder feet of
the instrument into the base of the pedestal, as is distinctly seen at x, y, in
Fig. 15. These bars may be made straight, but I prefer giving them a slight
curvature upwards, as shewn in the Figure, so that when drawn out they may
not be parallel to the floor, but may rise a little upwards, as shewn by the
dotted line w. A spring may be placed, as at u, to bear against the bars and
retain them in any required position, or they be made to slide altogether under
the base of the instrument.
.
Fig. 15 also shews a method that I occasionally adopt of forming the
notches for the pedals partly in the base or pedestal of the instrument, and
partly in the body or case of it, by which the seperation of the same from
the base takes place at the line t, v, instead of at the top of the notches as
hitherto practised; in the way this construction and after repairs of the instru-
ment are much simplified. And though this is my Invention, yet I do not
claim any exclusive privilege for its use, because it has been used before the
date of the present Patent.
Fig. 16 shews a transverse section thro' the body or case of a harp, which
contains a newly contrived stop to vary the quality of tone. a, a, is a trans-
verse section of the sounding board, and b, b, a top view of one of the ribs
of the body upon which the said stop is fixed; c is a cock or projecting piece
of wood or metal screwed down to the rib b, b, and carrying the arm d, which
turns upwards, in a vertical direction on the centre pin or hinge e; fis a
conical or tapering head, like that of a hammer, which admits of adjustment
by the screwed wire or tail h, in such manner that it may fall into the ring
or staple g screwed into the central back slip i and fit into it so closely as to

page_text: stop or affect the vibration of the sounding board. A side view of the said
stop is given in the same Figure, and the parts are referred to by the same
letters, except only that capital instead of small letters are made use of.
From the above description the nature of the operation of these stops will be
evident, and any number of them may be introduced into the body of the
harp at pleasure, but they must be so disposed that the whole of them
may be raised and lowered at the same time by rods or slips passing
upwards from a pedal connected with them, or in any other convenient
To prevent noise either the conical heads f, or the rings or staples g,
must be cloathed or covered with cloth or soft leather.
In witness whereof, I, the said Pierre Erard, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and twenty-two.