HANDBOOK OF THE COLLECTION OP MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS 109 



the wire." The belly or sounding board of the piano remained of 

 wood, especially fir wood. Important changes were made in the 

 action as well as in the hammer and in the point at which it struck 

 the string. But the changes in the strings themselves were even more 

 essential to the development of the modern piano. The earliest wire- 

 drawing mill making wire suitable for strings is said to have been 

 at Nuremburg, but about 1820 these strings gave way to Berlin wire. 

 Both these wires were of iron. To Webster, of Birmingham, Eng- 

 land, belongs the honor of replacing iron with steel wires in 1834. 

 Careful calculations and practical experiments determined the diam- 

 eter and tension necessary for strings in the various registers, as 

 well as the " overspinning " or winding of the bass strings. An im- 

 provement called " overstringing " was devised about 1830 and con- 

 sisted in placing the bass division of the strings above the tenor at a 

 divergent angle. This permitted the use of longer strings in the bass 

 section and extended the area of bridge pressure on the sounding 

 board. The method of tuning and the action of the pedals do not 

 concern our present purpose. 



Among the famous makers of pianos in the early years of the 

 eighteenth century were Broadwood and Erard, of England, fol- 

 lowed byjChickering, of Boston, who patented a new iron frame for 

 square pianos in 1840. The grand piano was patented by Henry 

 Engelhard Steinway, of Steinway & Sons, New York, on December 

 20, 1859. The modern upright pianoforte was invented by John 

 Isaac Hawkins, an Englishman, who was then living at Philadelphia, 

 Pa., who patented the instrument there and in his native country in 

 1800. The action was improved by the English maker, Wornum, 

 who patented his model in 1826. Mention should be made of the 

 "cabinet piano " invented in 1807 which did not have an overstrung 

 bass. It was sweet toned, but soon gave way to the modern upright 

 piano. 



The present collection includes a model of the old English single 

 action of the piano (95791) ; of the old German single action 

 (95792) ; and of the German double action as improved by Streicher 

 in 1892 (95793). Also a model of the Mason & Hamlin patent screw- 

 tuning pins (94650), and a model of the action of an upright piano, 

 patented in 1877 by Albert Steinway (95789). 



Among the square pianos exhibited is an instrument made about 

 1838 (277897). An interesting upright piano was given to the 

 Museum by Mrs. Gouverneur Morris (316176). It it is a Hale piano 

 decorated by Cottier. 



The extensive Worch collection of pianos is exhibited on the 

 rotunda balconies of the Natural History Building. 

 2999—27 8 



