THE HOUSE AND ITS EQUIPMENT. 



6 1 



THE DESIGN OF GRAND PIANOS 



Piano. ] {&amp;lt; filnuit and 



I ontl A nces/i v ni 

 Designs 



I imi i -A 

 &amp;gt;//// I n 



mi Design -1 iiinlnt 



A &quot;E\V yeaisago, Mr. llalsrv Ricardo, when writing of the attempts to accommodate the grand piano 

 to ordinary rooms by shortening its tail, pointed out tliat this agony of effort tended innva 

 ingly to disfigure its appearance. &quot; It gels lumpier,&quot; he said ; &quot; it has the si/.e witliont the 

 handiness ol an African elephant and the elegance of a mammoth toad.&quot; Tins i^ a poignant 

 accusation, but a true one, and there is reason in his demand that, if no home is to be complete 

 without a piano, we shall at least have a presentable tyrant instead of an awkward monster. &quot; Awkward &quot; 

 is a lair and moderate instalment of abuse lor the nrdinaiy ])iano ol commerce ; but before some examples 

 of successful effort in the direction of artistic treatment are considered, a sketch of its history may be 

 i;iven. Though we are not now concerned with the various mechanisms of the piano or of its predecessors, 

 a brief reference, to them will help to the understanding of the decorative problems presented, which 

 they necessarily have influenced greatly. It may, moieover, remove some current misconceptions. 



The earliest mediieval instrument in which the strings were struck by the pressing of keys \\a&amp;gt; 

 the clavichord, in which a short, faint note was made by the upward blow ol a &quot; tangent.&quot; It never 

 secured a strong hold on the affections of British musicians, and even as early as the fifteenth century 

 the plucking action, whereby the strings were sounded by a quill or strip of leather, entered the lists 



Q5 DESIGNED liY SHERATON FOR GODOY. 



