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| Pianoforte-makers
in England
BRINSMEAD
in London
Furniture at the International Exhibition
1877
The first of these is a concert grand, nine feet in length, This is said to be the largest pianoforte ever manufactured, and with the largest compass (7) octaves from a to C). A third pedal in this instrument is said to produce some novel effects; but, as this improvement is not yet patented, we must defer explaining it for the present. The scale is so long that the total strain is thirty-one tons, this lengthening of the scale being designed to increase the power and sustaining quality of tone. To resist this enormous strain a system of complete metal frame, cast in one piece, has been introduced. The sounding-board passes completely over the case, instead of stopping short at the plate on the sweep side. The old studs are completely superseded by a solid metal bar, which is cast in one piece with the metal struts and the metal wrest-plank, thus improving the solidity of tone. Many of these improvements are also introduced in the short grand, 6ft. 6 in. in length, in the grand oblique, 4 ft. 6 in. in height, and in the upright iron grand, 3 ft. 10 in. in height. Some beautiful little obliques, 3 ft. 2 in. in height, similar to those that gained the Medal and Diploma of Merit for Messrs. Brinsmead at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition last year, will also be exhibited at Paris." Music Trades Review, 15/11/1877, p. 11
ENGLISH PIANOFORTES.
In fact, so extreme was the simplicity of the early construction of the instrument, neither its exterior, nor, for that matter, its interior, could be said to present any features coming within the province of Art, save the quality of its musical sounds; and this was generally of a nature that, at the present day, would make the hearer inclined to shut his ears. How all this has changed would take too long to relate, our immediate task is only to describe something of the modus operandi pursued in manufacturing the modern pianoforte.
For this purpose the works of Messrs. John Brinsmead and Sons (of 18, Wigmore Street, London, W.), situated at Kentish Town, will serve as an illustration [see here above]. Their buildings and grounds are extensive, covering an area of nearly an acre; their working system (which includes the labour of over three hundred skilled hands) is simply irreproachable; the principles on which they fabricate the instrument are in some respects superior, though in all equal, to those of every other firm. But they have not alone improved-they have invented; and their patents (protected throughout Europe and America) are of such acknowledged value, that makers in the United States have arranged, by payment of a royalty, to have the right to make use of them. No higher proof of their importance need be required. Recurring, however, to the matter of construction, let us enter the outer walls of Messrs. Brinsmead's factory. At once we find ourselves in a timber-yard of very large dimensions, containing stacked piles of walnut, oak, sycamore, beech, lime, and deal, cut to all lengths and sizes. Here the wood remains for three years and upwards, until it has become thoroughly seasoned, it is then removed to the mill-rooms to be sawn to the exact proportions subsequently required. These rooms contain machinery of immense value and extent, this turns out the work in really perfect style. But the wood is not yet sufficiently dry to ensure its not warping when submitted to the processes to follow. It is therefore once more stacked, but this time in an outer building, called the drying rooms; here the atmosphere is heated by steam-pipes to a regulated temperature, varying from seventy-five degrees on the ground to ninety degrees on the topmost stage. A rest of some months takes place in this department. When the wood is at last thoroughly dried, it is ready to be used in the various shops for the construction of those parts of the instrument for which each particular species or quality may render it suitable. That for the exterior of the pianoforte has of course to be veneered, and we find the exquisite grain of the Circassian walnut is largest in request; the room in which these veneer- "leaves" are kept contains, in the space of every dozen square feet, a stock worth some thousands of pounds. While the outer appearance of the wood is here made pleasing to the eye, the work of preparing the interior parts is being carried on elsewhere. Backs, formed of deal and made strong with supports of iron tubes and bracings; beech, deal and lime together made into what are termed wrestplanks; sounding-boards, composed of thin planks of Swiss pine, with metal bridges to enhance the clearness and power of the tone; handsome fretwork fronts-all these various pieces are being brought to a state of completion in as many different departments of the factory. In due course each is fitted into its respective place, and the embryo piano gradually begins to assume its familiar shape. The strings have been fitted on to the sounding-board, some in vertical and some in oblique fashion, and all is now ready for the reception of the "action." It is to this part of the instrument that Messrs. John Brinsmead and Sons have given the full study of their long experience, and herein each of their marvellous improvements have achieved remarkable success.
But at the head of all stands the "Perfect
Check Repeater" action, patented by the firm in 1868. Its mechanism renders
repetition certain and instantaneous; so that the lightest touch, however
quickly repeated, secures a distinct intonation without in the slightest
degree affecting its purity and brilliancy. The hammers are made with much care nd delicacy, and covered with a single strip of felt gratuated in thickness according to the pitch of the wire to be struck by it. The action having been inserted (which is effected in what is termed the finishing room), the key-board is now added, and the last touches are given previous to the final operations of tuning and regulating.
These concluded, the instrument is removed to
Wigmore Street for inspection and 'voicing' at the hands of Mr. John
Brinsmead, who personnally undertakes this duty with every piano that is
made-no fewer than sixty pianos per week are turned out on an average. The little instrument known as the Centenniel, which took the first prize at the Philadelphia Exhibition, is in all respects a perfect production; and for a piano of its kind and size, its "singing" qualities are something wonderfull.
As a specimen of what Messrs. Brinsmead
produced in England. It is intended for the Exhibition can do in the way of
uniting beauty and novelty of exterior decoration with the splendid musical
effects we have been describing, we give a drawing of a pianoforte in the
early English style, which they have lately brought out. The curved top-part of the back is intended to act as a fenotone, collecting the sound and throwing it forward. The shelves are excellently adapted to the display od antique china and small ornaments. The grand pianofortes made by this firm are so magnificent instruments; they are at present manufacturing one that will be the largest ever produced in england. It is intended for the Exhibition at Paris next year, and they hope to make its tone surpass all their previous attempts. The instruments designed for use in foreign climates have stood, with complete success, the rudest tests to which they have been put. The cases are, of course, made of solid wood only, and wherever it is found possible to insert a screw or a brace to add to their strength care is taken to do so: an excellent proof of the high esteem in which these pianofortes are held by the best judges is that they have been awarded Gold Medals and the highest diplomas of Honour at the principal International Exhibitions of London, Paris, Amsterdam, Philadelphia, and South Africa." Industrial art, ed. by J.H. Lamprey, 1877, p. 134-135
1882
1893
The instrument is designed to imitate a highly-decorated harpsichord, the case being of mottled mahogany, inlaid with ivory and marquetry. It is noticeable that the designer has, as in the case of the piano designed by Mr. T. G. Jackson, A.R.A., reproduced in THE MAGAZINE OF ART some few months ago, evaded the difficulties connected with the ordinary form of piano legs by substituting a light and not ungraceful framework, which, while affording the necessary support to the body of the instrument, lends an elegance which is altogether lacking in the average grand piano." The Magazine of Art, Volume 16, 1893, p. 430 (more about this pianoforte see here below)
1894
MESSRS. BRINSMEAD'S NEW PREMISES.
The new show-rooms occupy the ground floor and basement of a commanding building of four stories above the ground floor, treated in the style of architecture prevalent in England in the sixteenth century, with projecting oriels and stone mullioned windows, a pleasing sky line being produced by the form of the gables. A large lobby is situated in the centre of the front, from which one enters the show-rooms, nine in number, on the ground floor, the first two being devoted to grands, the remainder to upright instruments. On this floor also are the offices and a waiting-room. The object has been to provide many rooms capable of contain ing about ten pianofortes each, rather than larger rooms with more instruments, in order that several customers may be suiting their tastes at one time without interfering with each other, and also that the work of the tuners may proceed without hindrance. A handsome staircase leads to the basement, where is situated a music room, tastefully decorated with tiles and mirrors, and fitted with stalls for an audience of 133 persons. The remainder of the basement is devoted to show-rooms, similar to the floor above. The arrangements for the receipt and discharge of goods have also been well thought out, with a view to avoid the inconvenience to customers of meeting the porters with their heavy loads. When an instrument arrives from the factory it is placed on a lift outside the building, in the forecourt, in Wigmore Street, and from there descends to the basement. Then (if required) it is placed on another lift and taken to the centre of the ground floor, and thence removed to the room alloted to it, according to the style of the piano. The whole of the panelling which forms the divisions of the several show-rooms is in sequoia wood, french polished, and was executed by the firm in their factory, the Brinsmead Works, Grafton Road, Kentish Town. Altogether about 20 grands and 100 uprights can be shown to advantage in the firm's new premises. L. J. Sharp, Birmingham, Official Receiver. The building was designed by Mr. Leonard V. Hunt, A.R.I.B.A., and erected under his per sonal supervision by Messrs. Holloway Brothers, Battersea." Music Trades Review, 15/05/1894, p. 31-33
CONCERNING A PRINTER'S ERROR.
To the Editor of THE
ARTIST. "Judged by the standard of antiquity of so many other musical instruments-for the pianoforte can be a musical instrument as well as an indispensable article of furniture-the pianoforte belongs but to yesterday. No one further back than Signor Cristoforo, of Padua, in 1710, or our own Father Smith a year later, thought of this instrument seriously, and we doubt very much whether the really practical combination of talents was found in this art trade before the young Scotch carpenter came to London in 1751 and married the daughter of Trehudi, the great harpsichord maker, and founded the firm of Brinsmead." This statement is
entirely unfounded, and may mislead the public by inducing the belief that
the and general art work history relating to the foundation of the firm of
John Broadwood and Sons relates to the foundation of the firm of Brinsmead. "In the year 1751, John Broadwood, a young Scotch carpenter and joiner, about twenty years of age, arrived in London, and succeeded in obtaining a situation in the employ of Tschudi, where he rapidly rose into favour with Mr. and Miss Tschudi. Like the proverbially good apprentice, he married his master's daughter, and became his partner and successor. In 1776, Becker, or Backers, assisted by John Broadwood, and another workman in the employment of Tschudi, Robert Stodart, after many experiments, succeeded in producing the grand action which was used by Stodart until the time of the dissolution of the celebrated firm founded by him. This mechanism has been used by the firm of John Broadwood and Sons, with slight modifications, until the present time. The first mention of a grand pianoforte, made with this action, is found. in the books of Tschudi and Company, under date 1781." It is untrue that the firm referred to by your contributor was founded in 1751 by the young Scotchman who married Miss Tschudi, not Trehudi, as mis-spelt by the writer of the article referred to. We hope that you will
consider that, in common fairness, and as a matter of justice to ourselves,
we are entitled to ask that the mis-statement should be corrected by your
inserting a copy of this letter in your next issue [We much regret the mistake, which was entirely our own oversight. Messrs. Brinsmead have also written to us to correct the printer's error. The series of articles commenced last month on this important question of modern furnishing will be continued in the next issue.--ED.]" The Artist, 11/1894, p. 424-425
We Londoners, on the contrary, find the beautiful at nearly every step; in the long street vistas with a Turner sunset at the end; in the great bridges that span the noble river and help us to realise its generous width; in the huge buildings that, beginning with St. Paul's, impress upon us what fleeting midges we are, and yet console us with the thought that helpless man can leave his mark upon the ages, as did Sir Christopher Wren. The hotel-palaces that have sprung up during the last few years have added much to the splendour of our wonderful metropolis, and the enterprise of many of the great firms has served considerably to embellish some of the West End thoroughfares. Take, for instance, the handsome and imposing sixteenth-century buildings completed but a short time since by Messrs. Brinsmead, which transform Wigmore Street into as attractive a thoroughfare as one could desire, and lift it completely out of the realm of the commonplace. The projecting oriels and quaint gables carry back the imagination to the old-world days of three centuries since and impart a flavour of romance to this home of some hundreds of pianos. Within, the idea of unlimited space is given by the happy arrangement of the rooms. A handsome staircase, with finely-carved wood, leads to the fine underground concert-room, the walls of which are covered with tiles in a curiously beautiful and refined tone of colour, a warm cream tint dashed with cedar brown, and suggesting oak tints. A rosy glow seems shed over the whole, and when the electric light shines out with the magical noiseless suddenness peculiar to it, the effect is excellent. The pillars supporting the room are veiled with panels of looking-glass, a contrivance that gives an air of lightness to these strong supports. Panels of lookingglass, framed in costly wood, also appear upon the walls. The whole of the wood work throughout this splendid building was executed by the firm's own skilled workmen at Kentish Town. The evideres of taste are as abundant as those of skill. As to the pianos themselves, they look thoroughly at home amid so much kindred workmanship. Some of them are so beautiful that the temptation to linger over them is great. The prices vary from £50 to £500. A walk through these vast premises gives one some idea of the importance of this branch of trade. Brinsmead's pianos are to be met with all over the world, resisting the eccentricities of climate as they do, and many an exile's heart must have warmed, and something suspiciously like a tear gathered in his eyes, when he has seen the well-known name in far lands, bringing with it thoughts of quiet, reposeful Wigmore Street, and the great City that means "home" to thousands of wanderers." To-day, 23/06/1894, p. 204-205
Judged by the standard of antiquity of so many other musical instruments for the pianoforte can be a musical instrument as well as an indispensable article of furniture — the pianoforte belongs but to yesterday. No one further back than Signor Cristoforo of Padua in 1710, or our own Father Smith a year later, thought of this instrument seriously, and we doubt very much whether the really practical combination of talents was found in this art trade before the young Scotch carpenter came to London in 1751, and married the daughter of Trehudi the great harpsichord maker and founded the firm of Brinsmead. It is not of the interior of the pianoforte, all-important as it is, however, that I am here to speak, but of the exterior. "Perfect check-repeater action" splendid modern "sostenente" improvements are all important to the hand of the player, but to the eye of the audience, whose eye is full satisfied, there is the all-important question of "case." It is, perhaps, but the husk and the shell, and the soul is awakened by the touch of the master-hand, but for us it is an all-important "case" where "no boudoir is complete" without this convenient music-maker.
It is thus that I seem to miss in the catalogues
of nearly all modern makers any testimonials as to the eye-service done to
the public and its printed expression of artistic gratification. We are
talking always of the "tone" and the "touch." Is there not room also for
testimony as to outward beauty of these inward graces? We return, as it were, to first truths. It is, of course, very difficult to persuade the public to be artistic in pianofortes, just as difficult as Mr. Oscar Wilde found it to convince the British matron that magenta was an abomination, and stucco a mean subterfuge to be discouraged. Adamto go back no further has been tried by Mr. Brinsmead, and, so far as the modern eyes are concerned, found wanting. He and his style as applied to the pianoforte “case" have gone by, and Louis XIV. had its drawbacks. The pianoforte must be in harmony with its surroundings and there are, speaking practically, very few Louis XIV. rooms. The paintings in which this period luxuriates, need to be done so well to be really artistic. Then Messrs. Brinsmead, more than forty years ago, tried to bend the public taste in the direction of well-executed marqueterie, and although such an instrument as that made for the Princess May is a joy for ever, the crowd of copyists arose and cheapened and vulgarized marqueterie past all endurance. Now we have it on every cheap model the marqueterie, that is, without beautiful gradation of shading and "cut," vulgarly and ad nauseam. With this cheapening of a beautiful form of decoration came the necessity for something better and newer, and so then Messrs. Brinsmead have made a mostlaudable effort to popularize the style which is generalized under the term "Chippendale." But whilst every piece of shoddy antiquity which blossoms in Wardour Street, or Great Portland Street is called Chippendale," Messrs. Brinsmead have stuck to the one cardinal virtue of that period, and are making their “Chippendale" cases in the wood of the great master cabinet-maker's choice, and with that solidity which has ever been the enduring charm of true English work. It is thus that this proud firm has the pride of true artistic ambition, and are thorough in their solidity. They are struggling with encouraging success to cure the public of its craze for veneer, for thin shams; and shams in art are ever hateful. Solid wood is the taste that should dominate the purchaser, and when the public know this, doubtless they will appreciate the truthful effort of the firm. The "burr" walnut, the thin cut blemish on the parent trees, is to go by the board, and solid, honest, mahogany and walnut wood are to take its place. This is the direction of the chiefest effort now being made by this firm, and all true lovers of the real will wish them every success. And the beauty and the quaintness of it is, that the real, solid wood is less expensive than the vulgar sham of the veneer, always bad in taste and often but an ill-contrived disguise for a cheap superstructure. There are even other valuable models upon which the English firm is at work, but for the present their effort is to make Chippendale models, and to make them in the solid wood which has enabled the best examples of the period to survive until our time. WALLACE L. CROWDY." The Artist, Volume 15, 10/1894, p. 388-389
1896 IMPORTANT NOTICE AND CAUTION
The vendors fixed the price of the goodwill of the business which they were selling to the company at £76,000, and the goodwill carried with it the exclusive right to use the name of T. E. BRINSMEAD & SONS. But no sooner was the company started than it was attacked by the original firm of JOHN BRINSMEAD & SONS, and an injunction was granted by NORTH, J., and confirmed by the Court of Appeal, restraining the company from using the name of BRINSMEAD without adding an express statement that it had Towards the close of the year 1892 a strong demand was no connection with the original firm. In these proceedings it was held that the design of the promoters of the company was to get as much as they could of JOHN BRINSMEAD & SONS' business by the use of the family name, and that the £76,000 charged for goodwill was really charged for the improper advantage it was hoped to obtain. Of the purchase price a considerable part seems to have actually passed into the hands of the vendors. Under these circumstances it was alleged that the company ought to be wound up under the "just and equitable" clause. The company, it was said, was based on fraud, and by reason of the injunction the substratum of its business was gone. But the mere fact that there has been fraud in the formation of a company is not a sufficient ground for winding it up. The shareholders may think it most for their interest to waive the fraud and carry on business on the best terms they can (Re Haven Gold Mining Co., 20 Ch. D. 151), and, although in the present case the company may have been greatly prejudiced by the injunction it appeared that it had by no means lost its business. The substratum of the business was not gone in the same manner as in the cases in which upon this ground a winding-up order has been made-where, for instance, a title to the property sold to the company cannot be made out (Re Haven Gold Mining Co., supra), or a patent on which the business depends cannot be obtained (Re German Date Coffee Co., 20 Ch. D. 169). But though the whole substratum of the business was not gone, VAUGHAN WILLIAMS, J., held that the disappearance of a substantial part of it gave him a discretion to make a winding-up order, and notwithstanding that a considerable business remained and that there were shareholders who desired to carry it on, he exercised his discretion in favour of a windingup. In his decision he seems to have been largely influenced by the facilities which the winding-up procedure would afford for the recovery of any money which might have been improperly paid to the vendors." The Solicitors' Journal, 19/12/1896, p. 123
1897
The firm of John Brinsmead & Sons largely owes its success to the specialties that have been patented by it during the past 35 years, that is to say, the pianoforte mechanism known as the perfect check repeater action, the castanet sounding board, the sound board compensator, the new string adjustment and complete metal frame, the tone sustaining pedal, the string compensator, and numerous other improvements that have quite revolutionized the English pianoforte. These specialties have been advertised at the International Exhibitions of London, Paris, Philadelphia, Amsterdam, Brussells, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Calcutta, South Africa, Dunedin, Hobart, Brisbane, Jamaica, Barcelona, Western Australia, Antwerp, Naples, Cork, Edinburgh.
The numerous gold medals that have been
gained by the firm are the best advertisements that have ever fallen to
the lot of John Brinsmead & Sons, and the fact that Mr. John Brinsmead
was decorated with the Legion of Honor of France, and also with the
ribbon of the Royal Portugal Order of Villa Vicoza, made the Brinsmead
pianos increase in popularity by leaps and bounds.
The publicity given to the first class
medals that were awarded the firm rapidly developed it, till its name
became a household word in Great Britain and the Colonies.
1910
When he first entered the service of the famous house, its destinies were under the active control of Mr. John Brinsmead the founder (who was then but fifty-nine), the managerial responsibilities being shared by the two partners Mr. Thomas John Brinsmead (then twenty-nine years of age) and Mr. Edgar Brinsmead (who was only twenty-three). Mr. Burbidge has survived them all. He remembers the house of Brinsmead as the only piano house in Wigmore Street: this was in the early seventies. Mr. Burbidge carries with him the hearty good wishes of those who have served with him no less than of those whom he has served. He takes into his well earned leisure seven and thirty years of recollection,- years crowded with interesting associations and enriched with pleasant memories. May he long enjoy them !" Musical Opinion and Music Trade Review, 09/1910, p. 873
BRINSMEAD
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Piano, by Messrs. Brinsmead. (Early English
Style)
