The 1783 tabletop piano, from the NHS collections.
A tabletop piano dating to 1783 was recently rediscovered in the Newport Historical Society’s furniture collection. According to the maker’s mark inscribed just above the keyboard, the instrument was made by Phillipus Schmidt of London. The actual strings and keyboard are encased in a box that could be lifted from its tapered wooden frame and placed, as the name suggests, on a separate table. This maker is represented by only two other surviving examples dated 1780 and 1782. He was probably part of the large number of German instrument makers who had migrated to London in that period.
The piano has a few details that experts believe to be unique:
- The construction of the soundboard’s grain direction is about 90-degrees different than is commonly seen.
- The vents in the soundboard in the right rear corner are another distinct feature.
- The piano has thick key front moldings.
This piece has been listed in the Clinkscale Online Database at EarlyPianos.org.
A sideview of the 1783 tabletop piano, from the NHS collections.