Folding Harpsichord

A rare form of a small harpsichord, the folding harpsichord was made to sit on a table. It has a removable keyboard as well as a soundboard in three hinged sections that fold up. The instrument has a limited range of three and a half octaves a few octaves and a quiet sound, which would have been well suited for private music making.

Technical description: Composed of one rectangular and two trapezoidal sections hinged together so that the sections fold into a rectangular box shape for travel, case of light brown wood (stained poplar?); compass C/e-c4, rosewood naturals with ivory arcades, accidentals veneered on the sides with rosewood and plated with ivory, two-rail keyframe, keys guided by pins between the rear ends of the levers, keyboard must be withdrawn to fold the instrument; jacks and tongues of pear, quill plectra, brass leaf springs, small lead weights, the jacks for the lower springs, small lead weights, the jacks for the lower 2/3 of the compass slotted for a single damper, box register is made by gluing blocks between two thin battens. (Douglas Maple 1983)