Kisting & Son Grand Piano: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This grand piano was made by Heinrich Christian Kisting & Son in Berlin, Germany around 1828-1832. The nameboard of this piano shows that it was made explicitly for export to Washington, D.C. and reads “H. KISTING and SON / Piano-fort maker of the Royal Court / at / Berlin / to be sold by Mr. / F. A. Wagler / at / WASHINGTON.” The piano has a compass of CC-a4, Viennese action with back checks on a rail, leather hammers, brass and iron strings with 2 or 3 strings for each note, 2 pedals (missing): keyboard shift (?) and dampers (?), a frame made from 3 iron tension bars (probably not original) screwed to a wood string plate and pin block, straight-strung, and a cherry veneer case with mahogany legs.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1828 - 1832
• maker: Heinrich Christian Kisting & Son
• Object Name: piano
• Physical Description: leather (hammers material)
• Physical Description: brass and iron (strings material)
• Physical Description: wood (frame material)
• Physical Description: cherry veneer, mahogany legs (case material)
• Measurements: overall: 34 1/4 in x 50 in x 87 in; 86.995 cm x 127 cm x 220.98 cm
• Place Made: Germany: Berlin, Berlin
• ID Number: MI.094888
• catalog number: 94888
• accession number: 24259
• 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.