By Nancy Johnson
During the recent winter months, Historic Georgetown, Inc., received a gift of a Chickering square piano from Kimberly Douglas of Denver. The piano's connection to Georgetown relates to the time it spent in Robert and Lucy Dane's antique shop at 701 Taos Street. Daughter Valerie Dane eventually sold the instrument along with her Denver residence to Ms. Douglas. This lovely gift now graces the north wall of the Bowman-White House parlor.
We believe that this square piano was manufactured by Jonas Chickering in 1856 in Boston, at his shop on Tremont Street. The style of the case is typical for the time period. The cabinet has rounded corners with no other ornamentation on the presumably rosewood exterior. It is supported by four stout, 12-sided, straight but tapered legs. The music stand is an identifying part of a Chickering square piano - it has a slat style rather than the ornate cut-out music stands that existed later in the century. The piano has 78 keys rather than the standard 88, which creates a 6½ octave keyboard. This size made it possible for more homes to accommodate a piano in the smaller rooms of the era. The pedal lyre has two raised circular pieces at the top and contains the standard two pedals. The keyboard action operates on a very ornate full cast-iron plate. This Chickering model is the same as the one that was in the White House during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln. The Smithsonian Institution displays a model that is identical to this piano in its Washington, D.C., museum, in recognition of its significance in American history and in the evolution of pianos.
The square piano evolved over centuries from earlier forms of keyboard instruments, including the harpsichord, clavichord, and pianoforte. Eventually the pianoforte became known simply as the piano. Early square pianos were housed in a rectangular case with square corners.
In 1823 Jonas Chickering, a cabinet maker from the Boston area, established his own piano-production business. From the very beginning, Chickering produced a piano of outstanding quality based on exceptional design. Chickering improved the use of a cast-iron frame inside the piano case and received a patent for the square frame and eventually for the grand frame. With the use of a cast-iron frame, the wooden case was no longer expected to hold the many pounds of pressure applied to the strings. (The average medium-size piano has about 230 strings, each string having about 165 pounds of tension per square inch. The combined pull of all the strings is approximately 18 tons. The total string tension of a concert grand is nearly 30 tons.)
Using the cast-iron frame in the square piano at last allowed common citizens to have durable pianos in their homes. The square piano dominated the market for 75 years. In 1870 a rosewood square piano could be purchased for $255. Steinway made its last square piano, perhaps the last in the United States, in 1889.
The square piano is remembered for broadening music for the home owner as well as the composer. Prior to the square piano becoming available to the public, only small instruments were used in the home. The early composers did not exceed the traditional five octaves in their compositions. Beethoven used five octaves until 1803, but was exceeding six octaves by 1818 due to the evolution of the piano.
In the latter part of the 19th century, many piano companies produced a piano commonly referred to as a square grand or a Victorian square grand piano. The square grand has neither a square shape nor is it a typical grand. Square grands had full keyboards of 88 keys with longer bass strings and ornate cases with elaborately carved, massive legs. These were usually found in larger homes, hotels, churches, and performance halls that catered to chamber music. Although one sits in the parlor of the Hamill House in Georgetown, very few Victorian square grand pianos still exist.
Pianos continued to evolve with the wing-shaped grand pianos that we are familiar with, both parlor (later called baby) and concert, as well as upright pianos. The upright piano replaced the square piano in the American home when its production began in the mid to late 1800s.
The square piano is a historical string keyboard instrument. It is not a modern piano but represents a step between the pianoforte and the modern piano. The square piano was not surpassed by the modern piano; rather, it was a stepping stone in the evolution of the piano, and therefore it is a link to the past.
Ms. Douglas relates that the piano that she donated to HGI was once used in the Half Moon Saloon. The existence of that establishment has not been confirmed. If readers have any knowledge of the Half Moon Saloon, HGI would appreciate hearing from them.
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| Vintage instrument: The design of the Chickering square piano, like this one on display at the Bowman-White House, allowed a family with a smaller home to own a sturdy piano. Photo by Jessica Hendrickson |