Kirkman - Biography

1880

MESSRS. KIRKMAN & SON.

"THE oldest of the existing firms is undoubtedly Kirkman's, which, although it did not begin to manufacture pianos until early in the present century, has been established in London about a century and a half.

Mr. Hipkins, a valued member of the house of Broadwood's, and a great and unbiased authority, reminds us that Jacob Kirkman, or Kirchman, is stated by Burney to have arrived in England about 1740, but that the date is obviously too late.

We believe the founder of Kirkman's firm actually arrived in London about 1725, and that he was in business in 1730. He died in 1778, and though he arrived in England without a penny in his pocket, he left a fortune of 200,000l.

At least one harpischord of Jacob Kirkman is still extant, in the possession of Mr. C. K. Salaman, late honorary secretary of the Musical Association, and it bears date 1768.

It is interesting to note that Jacob Kirkman was, after he came to England, the apprentice of Tabel, a Flemish harpischord maker, who had brought to London the traditions of Ruckers of Antwerp, and who also had an apprentice, Tschudi or Shudi, the founder of the house of Broadwood.

The first Kirkman married Tabel's widow, and it is stated that he proposed at breakfast-time and married the dame before high noon on the same day. By this he secured the business and died in 1778.

Burney, in Rees's 'Cyclopædia, gives Jacob Kirkman's harpischords high praise, regarding them as more full in tone and durable than those of Shudi. These instruments retained certain features of the Antwerp model, as late as 1768 preserving André Ruckers's keyboard G-F (nearly five octaves), with the lowest G sharp wanting.

This, as well as the retention of the rosette in the sound-board, may be seen in Mr. Salaman's Kirkman harpischord of that year, in which we find King David playing upon the harp between the letters I and K. Dr. Burney met with no harpischords on the Continent that could at all compare with those made in England by Jacob Kirkman and his almost life-long competitor Shudi.

Jacob Kirkman was succeeded by his nephew Abraham, whose son and successor, the first Joseph Kirkman, first introduced the pianoforte into his workshop.

On October 14th, 1816, we find (No. 4,068) the first patent in pianos by the firm of Kirkman. It consisted "in applying to pianofortes 'one of the strings or wires which are commonly made use of to produce each tone or note, and are usually tuned in unison' in such a manner as to enable it to be tuned an octave higher than the other two, and at the same time to keep it on a level with the other string or strings so as to allow the strings which are used to produce each tone or note to be struck at the same time and by the same hammer without making any alteration or addition to the usual mechanism or action whereby the hammers are moved.'

In upright cabinet and horizontal pianos, in addition to the usual bridges, viz., the 'unison' bridge and bridge on the wrest plank, there is inserted a 'third bridge' (called the 'octave bridge') of the same height as the unison bridge.

On the latter are cut grooves or notches large enough to admit a wire or string fixed in the moulding of the instrument to pass clear of it, and in the octave bridge grooves or notches are cut large enough to admit two wires or strings, also hung on pins fixed in the mouldings of the instrument, to pass clear of it.

Two of these strings are then laid upon the unison bridge in the usual way, and by means of the grooves in the octave bridge they pass free of it, and after being placed on the bridge upon the wrest plank are fixed in the usual way to the pins by which they are tuned.

The third string from which the octave note above is produced is then laid upon the octave bridge passing from the moulding clear of the unison bridge, and is fixed after being laid on the bridge on the wrest plank 'in the usual manner'to the pin by which it is tuned.

The two strings which are laid on the unison bridge are then tuned by means of the wrest pins in the usual manner in unison, and the octave string (the string on the octave bridge) is tuned an octave above the other two strings."

Joseph was succeeded by Joseph (the second) and Henry, the former of whom died only two years ago at the advanced age of eighty-seven.

Mr. J. G. Kirkman patented, January 19th, 1843 (No. 9,594), an improved action, but as no specification was filed it may be taken for granted that the patent was dropped.

In April, 1870, Mr. Henry John Kirkman patented his steel frame, the full specification with drawings being filed at the Patent Office, price Is. 10d. According to this specification,

"The invention relates to the employment of steel bracings or tension bars for resisting the pull of the strings and supporting the wrest plank. The wrest plank may be formed wholly of steel or partially of steel and partially of wood, and the stud bridges or bridges on the wrest plank will be applied wholly in the steel or partly in the steel and partly in the wood, depending upon the character or the tone desired to be obtained. In the formation of the wrest plank the steel and the wood parts are tongued together, or otherwise secured, and the steel portion may be continuous from end to end or otherwise.

The number of these steel bracings or tension bars, as well as the form and position of them and the form and position of the wrest plank, will vary. The steel preferred is wrought, and the bracings or tension bars are connected, by preference. direct to the metal part so far as it goes of the wrest plank, as well as to the metal string plate. In some cases the tension or bracing bars are applied in a line with the strings, so that the direction of strain on such bars may be through the centre thereof, or nearly so. To admit of such arrangement of the bars the bridges are recessed at those parts."

By this patent the patentee claims : "The employment of steel in the formation of the tension or bracing bars. The forming the wrest plank wholly or partially of steel. The application of stud bridges in the steel bar. The formation of a solid metal frame by the connexion of the string plate tension or bracing bars and steel bar forming the wrest plank or a part thereof."

The present head of the firm is also named Joseph Kirkman, the third in order of succession bearing that name. He, however, takes no active part in the business, which is managed by an able body of business men. The firm still occupies the house, 19, Broad Street, Soho, in which-then the sign of the King's Arms in Broad Street, Carnaby Market-the first Mr. Jacob Kirkman, or Kirchman, commenced business nearly a century and a half ago.

The invention of the Melopiano, adopted by this house a few years ago, not having succeeded, need not be described.

Messrs. Kirkman have, during the past two years, introduced many novelties into their factory, especially in the field of labour-saving machinery and in other details, to cause, as nearly as possible, the whole of the small work and other materials of piano manufacture to be made on the premises.

In this respect a good deal of "chaff" is going on in the trade, and one celebrated manufacturer has jocularly suggested that in future Messrs. Kirkman shall "keep elephants to grow their own ivory."

Among the more important machines now in work at Messrs. Kirkman's factory are a pea-cutting tool for making pea centres in grand and all centred actions; a machine for cutting hammer-shanks and damper-lifts, by which in one action they are cut, shaped, rounded, and cut off to a length; and a large punching machine for making springs, washers, and an endless variety of brass and small work.

Among the improved machines lately brought in use at Messrs. Kirkman's is also a shaping tool for all shaped work, such as stickers, damper heads, hoppers, levers, &c. This machine by one cutter makes the tenon of the hoppers, a process usually requiring five saws.

Also an improved lathe for cutting hammers apart; an ingenious contrivance by which two circular saws, acting independently, and working at different bevils, cut the hammer heads to any shape required.

Also improved lathes for making grooves for springs, and for making slots for hinges; also an improved saw for cutting out zinc rails, a metal shooting-board and plane for making zinc rails, and a machine for making dove-tail slots in the same.

There is also a new style of two fret cutting machines for cutting all frets, panels, and truss brackets. The whole, with the various other labour-saving machines specified below, are driven by a thirty-horse power engine by Clayton & Shuttleworth, which also supplies the exhaust steam for heating the factory, the drying rooms, &c. With these are a smithy, forge, and fittings for forging, bending, &c., ali steel bars, iron plates, &c., the iron and steel frames being all made on the premises.

Besides the machines we have mentioned, there are now used in Messrs. Kirkman's, and the factories of most of the leading firms, in the department of string-making, a machine for winding the wire on bobbins, an eyeing machine, and a covering machine, the first string on a large concert-grand requiring 6,400 revolutions to clothe it with the covering wire.

In some shops the covering machine is turned by steam, while in others the workmen, for some reason or other, prefer it to be turned by hand. In small work making many firms now use boring lathes, for centres, &c., a thicknessing tool for bringing work to the required thickness, and lathes for cutting rails apart.

In iron work some shops have now large and small engineer's lathes for cutting screws and for all iron and steel turning, and a drilling machine for pinning and drilling steel and iron frames, bent side plates, bottom plates, &c., while nearly all shops have a machine for cutting the octagonal canted sides of the legs, large turner's lathes for making the balls, collars, and toes of legs, and for general turnery; a large hand-saw for making bridges, shaping trusses and brackets, and for all sorts of sawing, trying-up benches; mortising, dowelling, and moulding machines, &c.

Messrs. Kirkman & Son have recently brought out a new and cheap overstrung cottage piano with a full iron frame. Other specialities of their house are steel framed grands and uprights, and pianos made of mixed iron and wood and mixed steel and wood." Music Trades Review, 15/09/1880, p. 5-6

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