Virgil Practice Clavier: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This practice clavier was made by Almon Kincaid Virgil in New York, around 1896. It is a small rectangular-shaped piano, serial number 3614, with a compass of AA-c4. The piano has a folding stand attached to the bottom that can be collapsed for storage. Practice pianos such as this were popular for their ability to weight the keys, forcing the pianist to press them harder and in doing so building up finger strength and enforcing muscle memory. The following is stenciled on the front of the piano [The date of 1888 is incorrect and should be 1886]:

PATENTED JUNE 29, 1888 [should be 1886] ” “ OCT. 23, 1888 ” “ JULY 19, 1892

U.S. Patent #344462, dated June 29, 1886, by Almon K. Virgil for an exercising device for musicians.

U.S. Patent #344464, dated June 29, 1886, by Almon K. Virgil for an exercising keyboard for musicians.

U.S. Patent #391439, dated October 23, 1888, by Almon K. Virgil for an exercising keyboard for musicians.

U.S. Patent #479340, dated July 19, 1892, by Almon K. Virgil for an exercising keyboard for musicians.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1896
• maker: Virgil, Almon K.
• Object Name: piano
• Physical Description: wood (overall material)
• Physical Description: ivory (overall material)
• Physical Description: ebony (overall material)
• Physical Description: metal (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: in box: 13 in x 42 in x 18 1/2 in; 33.02 cm x 106.68 cm x 46.99 cm
• place made: United States: New York, New York
• ID Number: 1983.0485.01
• accession number: 1983.0485
• catalog number: 1983.0485.01
• 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.