Hi Heidi, I'm not the best person to advise on this being in London. However, I do know that Howard Bryan & Co., Lynchburg, VA., has an excellent reputation. They may be able to help you. https://www.oldharpsmadeyoung.com

Excellent news. I'm really looking forward to reading this. Thanks Robert.

Hi Mike, I can delete your profile for you. Please confirm and I'll action this straight away. Sorry to see you go. Mike

Hi Lucy, The short answer is yes. Charles and Karol Gröll were one and the same person. Whether the Karol Gröll who worked on the harp and patented innovations was the brother of Tomas, I don't know - looks like a different Karol. Anna Olek, in her biography of Karol Gröll, found that he had three sisters - no mention of Tomas. She does mention that his father, Michal (so not Wilhelm) married twice - perhaps there was a younger brother by the second marriage.(https://www.harpspectrum.org/historical/Karol_Groll_inventor_of_the_modern_harp.shtml). Robert Adelson wrote an interesting article on Gröll (Robert Adelson, "Originality and Influence: Charles Gröll’s Role in the Invention of the Double-action Harp," inMuzyka, 64, no. 1 (2019)), and Lilliana Osses Adams has also researched him but her website has disappeared. There may be some truth in your research, however. There is a strong connection between clock and harp making. The Erards employed a clock maker during the development of their harps; the initial training of Jacob Erat (another harp maker) was given as 'clock maker' on his daughter's marriage certificate; and Robert Willis (who invented a new double-action harp mechanism, patenting it in 1819), was supported by Vulliamy (Benjamin Lewis), the renowned clock maker, and also Jacob Erat. In my forthcoming book, I postulate that Gröll was part of a forgotten family of harp innovators and link him to some of the French makers. Your findings might support this. Could Karol (son of Michal) be related to Karol (son of Wilhelm)? Good luck with your research - I hope that you will find a link - please keep up informed of your findings. Best wishes Mike

Hi Robert, I wouldn't describe myself as a maker any more - it's been many years since I made harps in any number. I do, however, have the plans and mould/templates for John Thomas's chromatic harps, based on those made by Pleyel. I bought these from his son a few years back. I also have a couple of interesting instruments such as a 22-string Erat single action and a Grosjean 'harpe a la Genlis". Mike

Casting in composition is fascinating. Lewis and I recently had an opportunity to watch this in action using one of my moulds. It's one of those things you could easily become addicted to - its a very pleasing and somewhat therapeutic process! There's a few photos here - http://www.mike-baldwin.net/Compo.html. I can be reached at mike@mike-baldwin.net. I will try to post something on the blog about the process later.

Thanks for this Jon - it's wonderful to see this board. I'd be very keen to see what moulds they have in their archive and would certainly make time to visit George Jackson's - 'Take the forum on tour' as you put it. I have a substantial collection of Erard and Morley composition moulds, a sample of which are shown on my website - http://www.mike-baldwin.net/Harps--Images--Objects.html, but I suspect that Jacksons have a more complete set. I wonder if they also have moulds that were made by Jacksons for Dodd.

This from 10 December 1894 - didn't take as long as I though to locate this entry.

Dear Lewis and Robert, Please see the below photo taken of the 1892 Morley journal, listing the harps sent to the Royal Aquarium, more or less matching the 1st loan exhibition document on the Morley. website. I'll skim through the 1894 journal when I've a spare hour. With regards to the Erard chid's harp, a journal entry on 7 July 1892 prices them at £30 (around £10-£15 more than a fourchette single-action), Grecians at £40, and Gothics at £65. Incidentally, an actionless child's harp (maker unknown, though probably not Morley at this stage) could be had for £10. Mike

Dear Robert, This is fascinating. I've always thought that the Erard ledgers give scant information about harp decoration, as this instrument and its associated entry suggest. That the price is that of a standard double-action is surprising, but there are a multitude of reasons why this could be so. Could it be that 2731 was an experiment, intended to extend the range of harps on offer? Altering pillar design is a standard way that modern makers create new models. I've seen a sketch of the putti somewhere before but can't for the life of me remember where. Have you had an opportunity to examine the instrument? I wonder if the decoration is of composition, applied over a standard pillar, or if it's carved. There is always an outside possibility that the decoration was added to an otherwise standard harp at some point after its manufacture - possibly something commissioned by Broadwood on behalf of Hamilton. There were numerous composition makers in London at that time who would have had no difficulty in doing just that; George Jackson was a mere stone's throw away. Later addition of the decoration might explain the standard price paid to Erard by Broadwood, the 20% discount being a standard commission, the cost of doing so (presumably plus Broadwood's markup) would have been passed on to the customer. Do you know how much Hamilton paid? Mike

Thanks Robert. I've shared information where I've thought it wouldn't directly impact on the 'confidentiality' of my work. Looking back, and thinking clearly now that the thesis is finished, I can see that my approach was more than a little 'precious' - sharing resources in the way that the likes of Simon McVeigh has done with his Concert Life in London dataset (London concerts, 1750-1800 http://research.gold.ac.uk/10342/) is definitely a better approach.

@Lewis Jones I'd be interested to know what the letter H (assuming that's what it is) on the neck is, and the F on the shutter.

Hi Robert, do you know any more about Thomas (e.g. occupation, dates, etc)? I've found various but apparently different Thomas Hamiltons in Glasgow via British Newspapers Online for this period. I can download and send you the few bits that have come up, or I can narrow the search a little. M