Érard , harp manufacturers

Identity area

Type of entity

Authorized form of name

Érard , harp manufacturers

Parallel form(s) of name

    Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules

      Other form(s) of name

        Identifiers for corporate bodies

        Description area

        Dates of existence

        History

        Sébastian Érard (1752-1831) enjoyed a successful career as a piano manufacturer in Paris between 1768-1790, enjoying royal and aristocratic patronage, and pioneering important improvements in the design and manufacture of keyboard instruments. A known royalist, he left Paris in around 1790-1791 for London, and in 1792 founded a business at 18 Great Malborough Street, concentrating on the manufacture of harps, which previously had almost always been imported from France. He patented his single action harp in 1794, the double action in 1810, and his nephew Pierre Orphée Érard (1794-1855) patented the larger 'Gothic' harp in 1835. The London business enjoyed great success, reflecting the rising popularity of the harp among both professional and amateur musicians in the early 19th century. The Érard ledgers show that a large proportion of the 6862 harps listed were purchased by royalty and the aristocracy in Great Britain and abroad, and they provide documentation of the musical activities of the families of George IV, the Duke of Wellington, Louis Philippe, Sir Walter Scott, Jane Austern and Sir Joseph Paxton, beside many other references that illuminate more obscure figures. They reveal details of stringing, materials, repairs, costs and models, the preferences of professional harpists such as Anne-Marie Krumpholtz, Sophia Dussek, the Vicomte de Marin, and Francois Joseph Dizi, and also show details of packing, agents, and transport of harps exported, including harps despatched to the continent, Russia and America. The London business proved so successful that it was able to reimburse all debts incurred by the Érard's Parisian business which had been declared bankrupt in 1813. Sébastian returned to Paris to resume piano manufacture and invention and the London concern was controlled by Pierre from May 1814. On the death of Pierre in 1855, the business passed into the hands of his widow Camille (1813-1889), and a M Bruzaud was nominated as controller of the London business. In the face of declining business, the London factory was sold at auction on 9 Sep 1890, though a few harps continued to be made at the rear of the Great Malborough Street premises until the late 1930s.

        Places

        Legal status

        Functions, occupations and activities

        Mandates/sources of authority

        Internal structures/genealogy

        General context

        Relationships area

        Access points area

        Subject access points

        Place access points

        Occupations

        Control area

        Authority record identifier

        Institution identifier

        Rules and/or conventions used

        Status

        Level of detail

        Dates of creation, revision and deletion

        Language(s)

          Script(s)

            Sources

            Maintenance notes