Topic: A beautifull instrument lives again

[piersdad]

got this heap of borer riddled wood and brass
from a lady who had tried to find some one to repair it
and look what it turned out to be


written on it I found april 1811
and serial number 1735
it is a sebastian erard harp with 43 strings
i feel a great honour to have rescued this beautifull instrument

I was astounded at the mechanics of it.
over 1000 parts beautifully hand crafted and still working as good as new.

i had to watch carefully as any part that came off had to be returned to exactly the same place
every screw was ever so slightly different and so when i took 2 screws undone i had to put them in a rack so they went back in the same place( the tops were 4 thousands of inch different)

evidence showed that the 160 small brass threaded pegs on it were all made by hand. and they made aprox 100 harps a month then.


this was some of the base unit befor restoration


 http://www.storydad.com/index.php/board,19.0.html

[Cran]

Now that has to be one of the experiences that makes life worthwhile ...

well done you! 

It seems that there was a necessity from about the second half of the 20th century to move towards simplicity (paucity) of form and mass production ... perhaps that's why some of us cling to the complex beauty we see in the older forms, from small instruments up to grand buildings and other structures ... and why we applaud anyone who retains or gains the skills to make or repair such things ...

 

[piersdad]

thanks cran.
the effort  put into the harp and th renumeration were wide apart as it was such a beautifull instrument i would have done it for free.