28 repor:^ op national museum, 1915. 



By this generous and public-spirited gift, Mr. Worch has made 

 himself one of the notable benefactors of the Museum, and especially 

 in a line in which the Museum has been particularly deficient. The 

 public can scarcely fail to realize the significance of his donation, not 

 consisting of isolated objects, however valuable they might be, but of 

 a definite and well-ordered collection, illustrating by actual examples 

 the history of an industry dear to the hearts of all civilized peoples. 



We must wait upon Mr. Worch for a detailed account of his studies 

 and his collection. Below is given a list of the instruments referred 

 to, of which 46 are American and 24 European. It has been prepared 

 from a preliminary catalogue furnished by the donor, and while 

 neither descriptive nor comparative, it contains a few remarks of 

 general interest. The foreign pianos have been allowed to precede 

 those of American make as they furnish earlier dates, but in most 

 cases it has been impossible to fix the dates with absolute definiteness. 

 The foreign instruments are from Germany, and from Vienna, Aus- 

 tria : London, England ; and Paris, France. The American are from 

 Philadelphia, New York Citj, Baltimore, Boston, Cincinnati, Nor- 

 wich, Conn., and Concord, N. H. 



The list is as follows : 



Germany and Austria. — A German square piano, maker's name 

 unknown, about 1770; the instrument, which is richly inlaid and in 

 fine condition, is a rare specimen of its class of work. L. H. Mueller^ 

 Bremen, German hammer clavier. No. 83, about 1785; a good type 

 of German squares made at that time. Martin Seilffert^ Vienna, up- 

 right piano, about 1812; pianos of this type, because of their peculiar 

 shape, were laiown as " Giraffe Grand " ; the maker gives notice on 

 the name plate that this instrument was invented by him. Har- 

 monium of unknown German make, about 1825. Andre Stem^ 

 Vienna, square, about 1833 ; Viennese action, of which Johann Stein, 

 father of Andre, was the inventor. The two most popular foreign 

 instruments in this country from 1825 to 1840 were those of Stein of 

 Vienna, and Rosenkranz of Leipzig. Stein's reputation in Europe 

 was proverbial for the excellence of his work, and the importation 

 of Stein instruments into the United States exceeded that of any 

 other foreign make. 



London, England. — Longman & Broder-i'p^ two examples, both 

 square, one about 1785, the other, No. 424, finished in 1796, the 

 former being one of the earliest types of this establishment which 

 was founded by James Longman in 1767. Lodiner^ square, about 

 1785 ; the name is doubtless fictitious. Cr. Ganer, square. No. 456, 

 about 1788 ; an excellent example of one of London's pioneer piano 

 makers. Culliford^ Rolfe <& Barroii\ two square pianos, one about 

 1790, the other about 1795. Robert & William Gray, square, about 

 1795. Johannes Broadwood, square, finished in 1798. The style of 



