Don,
This is a second attempt at a reply, so my apologies if a near clone
appears later. T'interweb is a most mysterious beast.
Post by Don MoodyPost by Simonshopkeeper (presumably of pianos and music) and piano tuner despite
being, according to the 1901 census, "blind from boyhood".
It's a very sensible combination for a blind lad with family business
connections in the locality. A poorer lad, or a blind veteran soldier might
well have been trained as a piano tuner. It was held that the blind had more
acute hearing than the sighted, and hence were well-suited to the tuning
trade.
In "History of Piano Tuners", Gill Green is of little doubt that the
association between blindness and piano tuning is due entirely to the
influence of one man:
"The entire responsibility for the association of piano tuning with
the blind in Britain rests squarely with one man. Thomas Rhodes
Armitage, M.D., M.R.C.P., was born in 1824 and pursued a successful
career as a doctor in London:
In 1860 ... [he] was told that if he wished to retain even a small
measure of sight, he must retire from active practice. Already his
sight had so far deteriorated that he could no longer read print. [91]
Armitage investigated the existing facilities which were available to
help the blind, and was shocked at the dearth of assistance which he
encountered. Being a wealthy man, he could afford to travel, and did
so widely, all the time seeking ways in which the blind could not only
be helped, but learn to help themselves." ***
While visiting L'Ecole Braille in Paris to "gain practical experience
of Braille music notation", Armitage was impressed with a couple of
blind students who had taken it upon themselves to tune up a poorly
prepared piano, writing to one of them later, 'the blind are indebted
for their introduction to one of the most useful and remunerative
vocations of which they are capable. He was so impressed, in fact,
that he co-founded Royal Normal College and Academy of Music for the
Blind at Norwood in Surrey in 1872 when Jess Hall would have been
21.
I don't know how likely it is that Hall visited the academy but
perhaps he was aware of and / or inspired by it's existence. Dr
Armitage could certainly have done the blind piano tuner meme no harm.
Post by Don MoodyEither or both. Probably not doing the making with his own hands but if he
had a repair workshop which included joiners they could have done.
Essentially there were two tasks. Making the 'works' which is highly likely
to involve buying in from an industrial supplier especially when it involved
ironware; and making the 'box' to contain the works. The 'box' is the bit
the customer sees and could well be made to order. It's rather akin to
clockmaking where movements are bought in from an industrial supplier and
then 'boxed' for the customer.
Also from Green's "History...":
"Piano tuners often became shop owners: the initial link with an
established piano firm leading to a provincial placement, particularly
within a cathedral city.
Cathedral towns had long been magnets for groups of musicians, for the
cathedral was one of the main sources of employment for these people.
In the eighteenth century, small groups of musicians could be found in
the environs of almost any cathedral. By the nineteenth century their
numbers had swelled, and many of them were teaching music in their
spare time. A rise in teacher numbers meant a rise in pupil numbers
and a consequent demand for music. Stationers and bookshops
initially handled this demand, but eventually found the demand
overwhelming, and music shops began to be seen in high streets all
over the country. As demand rose for pianos it became worth the
music shop proprietor's while to open a piano sales department, which
in turn led to a need for piano tuners.
As the piano became a social necessity, as a mark of respectability,
demand spread from the cathedral cities to the industrial towns which
were growing apace. In these cases the need for social cachet fed
the fire of piano demand, rather than a surfeit of music teachers, but
the ownership of a piano led to the need for a music teacher so the
industry was relatively self-perpetuating: it was simply a matter of
which way round the circle of supply and demand one chose to travel."
***
Post by Don MoodyA similar business, but in clocks, was run by my ancestor Thomas Harben in
Lewes. He dealt for the posh and made for the not quite as posh. Thomas
Harben clocks can still be bought, and for the same reason as Hall pianos
are still around. The 'works' that were bought in were - by modern
standards - over-engineered. It was the sort of thinking that if an item
would function for a while if a crucial part was 1/16" inch thick, but would
be reliable at 1/8" thick, then they made it 3/16" thick to give a margin
of safety. The joinery was approached in the same fashion. Built to last. It
wasn't a throwaway society.
It is certainly in good condition considering its age. Of course
there are scratches and scrapes on the cabinet and a missing latch,
but it sounds, to my ear, fine. I'm sure it will tune up and play
beautifully.
Post by Don MoodyWe didn't have a Hall piano in my adoptive home when I was a kid but we
certainly had a blind piano tuner come round to tune our upright every 6
months. He was a more crucial bloke than might at first appear. Once he had
tuned the piano that was what all other instruments were tuned to. In our
area the blind piano tuner was not a pitiful figure to whom the sighted were
charitable. He was a craftsman well worth his salt and a crucial member of
the local musical scene. More to the OPs point he was incidentally a dealer
insofar as he profited from knowing who was unable to continue to play or
moving house, and who wanted to learn to play and acquire a piano.
Green again, "Generally, the tuner in the Victorian/Edwardian age
seems to have been regarded as something of a gentleman, since they
were neither fish nor fowl when it came to class: they were a breed
apart within the [piano] factory - on the factory floor, yet not of
it; they were tradesmen yet often came to the front door and conversed
freely with the lady of the house (and occasionally with the man of
the house) since they were working on one of the most prized
possessions in the home." ***
Many thanks,
Simon
*** http://www.uk-piano.org/history/piano-tuner-history.html
