Hoffman Square Piano
- Description (Brief)
- This piano was made by Johann Friedrich Hoffman in Cleve, Germany in the 1790s. This very unusual predecessor to the fortepiano was called a “pantalon” because of its two sets of hammers. The bare hammers would have been used to play loud passages and the leather-covered hammers for soft passages. This piano has a compass of FF-g3, simple jack action without escapement, 2 sets of hammers, one leather-covered and the other bare wood, double-strings throughout with tuning pins on right, 1 hand stop: changes hammer set, 2 pedals: bass dampers and treble dampers, wood frame, and an oak case.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1765-1775
- maker
- Hoffman, Johann Friedrich
- Place Made
- Deutschland: North Rhine-Westphalia, Cleve
- ID Number
- MI.299865
- accession number
- 061285
- catalog number
- 299865
- Credit Line
- Hugo Worch
- See more items in
- Culture and the Arts: Musical Instruments
- Music & Musical Instruments
- Pianos
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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