Longman & Broderip Square Piano: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This square piano was made in London, England around 1786. Longman & Broderip was a series of companies began about 1767 by James Longman who never manufactured pianos but sold them and later commissioned other makers to produce pianos. He was joined by Francis Broderip in 1775. In 1798, financial reverses ended in bankruptcy. The nameboard misspells Broderip’s name and is inscribed “LONGMAN and BROADRIP.” The piano has a compass of FF-f3, English sinle (Zumpe type) action, leather hammers, strings are double-strung throughout, turning pins to the right, 3 hand stops: moderator, bass and treble dampers, and a wood frame in a walnut case.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1775 - 1799
• maker: Longman & Broderip
• maker: Longman & Broderip
• Object Name: piano
• Physical Description: walnut (overall material)
• Measurements: body: 9 in x 16 3/4 in x 21 1/2 in; 22.86 cm x 42.545 cm x 54.61 cm
• Measurements: legs: 24 1/2 in; 62.23 cm
• Place Made: United Kingdom: England, London
• ID Number: MI.094870
• catalog number: 94870
• accession number: 23866
• 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.