Steinway & Sons Square Piano: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This square piano was made by Steinway & Sons in New York, New York in 1877. It is a very large square piano typical of those made in the United States in the last third of the 19th century. American makers continued to produce squares long after European makers had abandoned them in favor of uprights. The last square piano made by Steinway & Sons was made in 1888. This piano is serial number 37600 and has a compass of AAA-c5, rocker action, felt hammers, single-strings for the first 11 notes, double-strings for the next 42 notes, triple-strings for the rest, tuning pins at the rear, 2 pedals: moderator and dampers, full cast-iron frame, and a rosewood case.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1877-1878
• maker: Steinway & Sons
• Object Name: piano
• Measurements: overall: 37 1/2 in x 83 in x 42 in; 95.25 cm x 210.82 cm x 106.68 cm
• Measurements: overall: piano: 14 1/4 in x 84 in x 42 1/2 in; 36.195 cm x 213.36 cm x 107.95 cm
• Measurements: overall: leg: 24 in x 14 1/4 in x 11 in; 60.96 cm x 36.195 cm x 27.94 cm
• Place Made: United States: New York, New York City
• ID Number: MI.381444
• catalog number: 381444
• accession number: 159745
• Credit Line: George M. Harris
• 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.