Dowd Harpsichord Collection
name: label: Creator
content: Dowd, William R.
topic: label: Topic
content: Musical instrument makers
label: Topic
content: Musical instruments
label: Topic
content: Harpsichord
label: Topic
content: Harpsichord makers
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated by William R. Dowd and Pegram Dowd on June 12, 1997.
creator: label: Creator
content: Dowd, William R.
setName: label: See more items in
content: Dowd Harpsichord Collection
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: William Richmond Dowd (1922–2008) was an American harpsichord maker. Dowd graduated from Harvard University (1948) and apprenticed with John Challis, a harpsichord maker in Detroit. In 1949, Dowd partnered with Frank Hubbard (1920-1976), a fellow Harvard classmate and harpsichord maker to form Hubbard and Dowd in Boston, operating the Boston School of Harpsichord from 1949-1958. Dowd and Hubbard built harpsichords based on historical principles and dedicated themselves to research and restoration techniques of historical keyboard instruments. The first harpsichords built by Dowd were based on the 1637 Johannes Ruckers single harpsichord.  In 1956, Charles Fisher joined the firm as a third partner.

Dowd formed Dowd Harpsichord Shop in 1959, building the Pascal Taskin model of harpsichord. Taskin (1723-1793) was a French harpsichord and piano maker. In 1972, Dowd established an office in Paris in association with Reinhard von Nagel. The Paris office closed in 1985.  Dowd closed his workshop in Boston on September 1, 1988 and died in November 1988.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 33 Cubic feet (81 boxes, 7 map folders)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1949-1997
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0593
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Business records
label: Type
content: Design drawings
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged into ten series.

Series 1: William Dowd (Boston Office), 1958-1993

Subseries 1.1: Background Matreials, 1965-1993

Subseries 1.2: Desk Calendars, 1982-1989

Subseries 1.3: Wall Calendars, 1964-1985

Subseries 1.4: Address Books, undated

Subseries 1.5: Telephone Logs, 1985-1988

Subseries 1.6: Catalogs, 1962-1988

Subseries 1.7: Shop Books, 1949-1986

Subseries 1.8: Maintenance, 1981-1993

Series 2: General Files, 1949-1993

Series 3: Design Notes and Drawings, 1952-1990

Subseries 3.1: Drawings, 1952-1990

Subseries 3.2: Design Notes, 1959-1987

Series 4: Suppliers/Services, 1958-1988

Series 5: Owner's Files, 1960s-1980s

Subseries 5.1: Owners Files (alphabetical)

Subseries 5.2: Former Owners (alphabetical)

Series 6: Antique Files, 1949-1979

Series 7: Financial Records, 1961-1987

Series 8: Photographs, 1949-1988

Series 9: Publications, 1969-1994

Series 10: William Dowd (Paris Office), 1971-1985

Series 11: Newspaper Clippings, 1949-1993
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Portions of the collection processed by Grace Angle, volunteer and Sony Prosper, intern (2012) and Alison Oswald, archivist, 2016.  Finding aid authored and encoded by Alison Oswald. 

One cubic foot of material containing personally identifiable information and personally identifiable health information was disposed of in December 2016.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Business records
label: Genre/Form
content: Design drawings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The collection documents Dowd's career as a maker and scholar of harpsichords through correspondence, photographs, drawings, notes, and financial materials. The collection contains templates and drawings for harpsichords built or restored by Dowd. The collection also documents the activities of small business and its owner in Boston from 1959-1988.
separatedmaterial: label: Separated Materials
content: The Division of Culture and the Arts (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) contains two harpsichords built by William Dowd.  See accessions 1980.0274.1 (Compass: FF-f3. Copy of 1730 Blanchet instrument) and 2009.0229.01 (double manual, serial number 336-75).