[howard smith]

Hi!
I've just been given a straight-strung Brinsmead upright to work on, No. 34803 (around 1885-90). I'm astonished by the features on it, despite the age. Square tuning pins (not oblong as is usual for Victorians); a middle sostenuto pedal; 88 notes. No tapes, but spring and loop, where the top of the spring is a tiny wooden block with a groove in it, around which fits the loop on a level with the notch. Were all Brinsmeads so ahead of their time? Or is this a special limited version.
Any comments greatly appreciated.
Howard Smith

[Bill Kibby]

Further to my email, an 1878 article in the Illustrated London News says of a Brinsmead "Another important feature in the instrument is the addition of a third pedal, which gives the performer the power of sustaining, almost indefinitely, some notes, while others may be played staccato. This is a particularly valuable quality".
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I do not buy, sell or value pianos, but I sometimes rescue wood-frame pianos in the UK.

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Email Bill@PianoGen.org

Piano History Centre