Astor & Co. Square Piano: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This square piano was made by Astor & Company in London, England around 1799-1815. After his apprenticeship in Germany, George Peter Astor went to London about 1778. In the late 1790s, Astor moved to 79 Cornhill in London. This address is inscribed on the nameboard. After George Astor’s death in 1813, his widow continued the firm until 1815, This piano is serial number 3243 and has a compass of FF-c4, an English double action, leather hammers, double-strings throughout, first 10 notes are wound brass, next 13 notes are brass, the rest are iron, 1 hand stop: dampers, wood frame, and a wood case.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1799-1815
• maker: Astor & Co.
• Object Name: piano
• Place Made: United Kingdom: England, London
• ID Number: MI.332304
• catalog number: 332304
• accession number: 94098
• Credit Line: Hugo Worch
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.