I just discovered the Waller Manuscripts Collection at the University of Uppsala Library. What a knockout! It is a beautifully catalogued digital archive of manuscripts from the Middle Ages through the 20th century, mainly related to the sciences, all donated to the Uppsala Library in 1955 by the famous collector Erik Waller.
You can view high-resolution scans of the manuscripts, and the search capabilities are excellent. The catalogers have identified people, places, objects, etc. associated with each manuscript, and you can search for these either in specific search fields or in a freetext search that searches the whole text of the catalogue. According to the website, there may be as many as 40,000 documents in the collection, and the project to catalogue and digitalize them is ongoing.
In a search for “pianoforte,” I came up with a letter of May 4, 1827, from a Professor Eschenmayer in Tübingen to the piano builder Johann Lorenz Schiedmayer in Stuttgart. (The catalogue record for this letter tentatively identifies the addressee as Johann Lorenz’s father, Johann David, who was also a piano builder, but died in 1805. Johann David worked with Johann Andreas Stein in Augsburg.) Eschenmayer writes that he is sending back the piano he bought from Schiedmayer 12 years previously for repairs: the pinblock has apparently warped such that the hammers bump into it before they can reach the strings, and the soundboard has a number of cracks.
Tilman and I had a good time transcribing the manuscript together. At least I did—I’m proud to say that I have gotten a lot better at reading old German handwriting and I managed to get through a lot of it myself. But there is nothing like having an authentic German, head brimming with authentic German grammar and vocabulary, to come in and do the heavy lifting.
At any rate, here’s our transcription. A few preliminary notes: Eschenmayer writes that he has had a local organ builder, who usually tunes the piano, carry out some repairs. The name in the text is hard to read but looks like “Straser.” I have found a mention of a “Straßer, Johannes, Orgel- und Instrumentenmacher” who received permission to live or work (Gemeindebürger- und Beisitzrecht) in Tübingen in 1818, so perhaps this is the same man. Eschenmayer also mentions the driver who is going to deliver the piano to Schiedmayer; this name is also hard to read but looks like “Seidel.”
Geehrtester Herr Schiedmayer!
Schon seit mehrern Jahren fieng das Instrument,
das ich vor 12 Jahren von Ihnen gekauft habe, in
manchen Tasten zu klappern an. Der hiesige Orgel-
macher Straser[sic], welcher gewöhnlich das Instrument stimmt,
sagte, der Stimmkasten werfe oder senke sich, so daß
die Hämmer an das Holz schlägen bei der Berührung
der Saiten; Er half diesen Tasten gewöhnlich da-
durch, daß er den Hämmern, wo sie die Saiten be-
rührten, ein oder mehrere Lagen von Leder unterlegte,
wodurch die Reibung an dem Holz auch wirklich
verhindert wurde. Das Sinken des Stimmkastens dauerte
inzwischen fort und machte immer neue Reparatio-
nen nöthig. Während der lezten Osterferien aber
wurde es auf einmal so stark, daß nun eine Menge
Tasten gar nicht mehr an die Saiten sondern nur
[beg. page 2] an das Holz anschlagen und die ganze Dämpfung
wie eingeprest[?] ist. Auch fanden sich außer dem anfäng-
lichen Sprung im Resonanz-Boden noch mehrere Sprünge.Das Instrument bedarf einer durchgängigen Repa-
ratur; Ich werde es Ihnen daher mit dem Fuhr-
mann Seidel[?] von hier nächster Tagen zuschicken
und ersuche Sie, mir dasselbe nach allen Theilen sobald
es seyn kann wieder herzustellen und mir den Conto
davon mitzusenden.
Ein Stab, der durch die Züge die stärkere Dämpfung
hervorbrachte, wurde schon vor vielen Jahren herausge-
nommen, weil er die Töne verwirrte. Ich schicke ihn
zugleich mit.
Mit—-
Professor Eschenmayer
Tübingen d. 4. Maj. 1827
My favorite part is the last paragraph, where Eschenmayer says that he is sending back a hand stop that “created a stronger damping” because it blurred the notes and he hasn’t used it for years. Eschenmayer’s tone is admirably controlled throughout the letter, but you just know what he’s thinking: “Take your wretched piano back, and that stick I’ve been tripping over since 1816 with it.”
Please speak up with any corrections or comments!
[...] too dry. Not surprisingly, this has been a problem at all times, as you can read in Robin’s new post about an unlucky Schiedmayer [...]
The piano in question is a square with english action.
Hi, it is a common misconception that J.D.Schiedmayer trained at Stein’s but it is not correct. Schiedmayer did in fact work for Stein as a journeyman (Geselle) and of course he learned something there to but he was not apprenticed to Stein which is what the phrase “Johann David trained with Johann Andreas Stein in Augsburg” implies.
Hi Bill,
Thanks very much for your comments. I have moved them from the Contact page to this post so that other visitors can see them in context.
I think you are right that the phrase “trained with” gives the wrong impression. I have edited the post to read “worked with.” Thanks again.
Robin