Harp Making in Late-Georgian London
Harp Making in Late-Georgian London
At the end of the eighteenth century, after the French Revolution, the centre of pedal-harp making moved from Paris to London. There, building on the work of the its Bavarian originators and Parisian developers, mainly immigrant makers elevated the instrument to new musical, technical, and decorative heights, placing it in the hands and salons of the British upper classes and aristocracy. Until recently, the story of harp making in England has been dominated by the Erard family, who made about 7,000 of an estimated 15,000 harps made in London during the nineteenth century; some 20 makers have been all but forgotten.
This book, the story of harp making in late-Georgian England, assesses the role and consumption of the harp in society whilst describing its decorative and technical development. Through the lens of newly discovered documents from Jacob Erat’s harp manufactory and the reinterpretation of others, forgotten makers and their innovations are revealed anew.
