Lot n° 256
Estimation :
10000 - 15000
EUR
GLASS-CORD Anonyme, début du XIXe siècle
The melodious sounds of Franklin's harmonica contribute powerfully to the effects of phantasmagoria, by preparing not only the minds, but the very senses for strange impressions by a melody so sweet that it sometimes irritates the nervous system very energetically; in the absence of this instrument, the celestine would be preferred to an organ set. Wind instruments, especially horns, must prevail over string instruments! (Robertson, Mémoires récréatifs, scientifiques et anecdotiques, Paris, 1831, tome I, p. 356-357.)
The glass harmonica, a faithful accompaniment to Robertson's phantasmagorias, traditionally attributed to Benjamin Franklin, could be advantageously replaced by this musical instrument with a retractable keyboard of 49 keys, obviously designed for travelling shows.
Beyer, its inventor, and Franklin, its godfather, agreed to name the crystal phone: Glass-Cord
The instrument was given no name when it was first presented to the Royal Academy of Sciences on January 19, 1785. A little later, on March 18, the Academy reviewed the instrument in the form of a forte-piano. Followed on August 24, still of the same year, by the publication of a notice which specifies: The first instrument that Sr. Beyer executed was taken to America by Mr. Franklin, who named it Glass-cord, a name composed of the two English words, glass, & cord, which designates a glass-stringed instrument.)
The instrument presented here dates from the beginning of the 19th century. Its veneer case and its mechanism are entirely original and functional.
The sound part, the famous glass strings, is partly original and has been completed over the years by coherent replacements, both harmonic and tonal.
But isn't it precisely this vulnerability which is the reason for its rarity!
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