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Harp Making in

Late-Georgian London

At the end of the eighteenth century, after the French Revolution, the centre of pedal-harp making moved from Paris to London. There, building on the work of its Bavarian originators and Parisian developers, mainly immigrant makers elevated the instrument to new musical, technical, and decorative heights, and placed it in the hands and salons of the British upper classes and aristocracy. Until recently, the story of harp making in England has been dominated by the Erard family who built about 7,000 of an estimated 15,000 harps made in London during the nineteenth century; some 20 other makers have been all but forgotten.

This book, the story of harp making in late-Georgian England, assesses the role and consumption of the harp in society whilst describing its decorative and technical development. Forgotten makers and their innovations are identified. Through the lens of newly discovered documents and the reinterpretation of others, Jacob Erat's manufactories are reconstructed. His working methods, illustrative of those used in the wider industry, are rediscovered, and employees and suppliers are revealed anew.

ISBN: 9781527265110

428 pages

Price: £60

Harp Making in

Late-Georgian London

At the end of the eighteenth century, after the French Revolution, the centre of pedal-harp making moved from Paris to London. There, building on the work of its Bavarian originators and Parisian developers, mainly immigrant makers elevated the instrument to new musical, technical, and decorative heights, and placed it in the hands and salons of the British upper classes and aristocracy. Until recently, the story of harp making in England has been dominated by the Erard family who built about 7,000 of an estimated 15,000 harps made in London during the nineteenth century; some 20 other makers have been all but forgotten.

This book, the story of harp making in late-Georgian England, assesses the role and consumption of the harp in society whilst describing its decorative and technical development. Forgotten makers and their innovations are identified. Through the lens of newly discovered documents and the reinterpretation of others, Jacob Erat's manufactories are reconstructed. His working methods, illustrative of those used in the wider industry, are rediscovered, and employees and suppliers are revealed anew.

ISBN: 9781527265110

428 pages

Price: £60

Mike Baldwin

Author / Historian/ Folklorist/ Harp Maker

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Sep 17, 20201 min read

Robert Willis: harp innovator, polymath, and illegitimate son of George III's physician.

On 7 May 1820, Robert Willis (1800-1875), the 20-year-old illegitimate son of Robert Darling Willis and grandson of Francis Willis (physicians to George III), wrote a parody of Handel's coronation anthem, Zadok the priest in his diary.

Sad dog the priest & Nathan the barber anointed Solomon’s chin And all the barbers rejoiced & cried Let’s shave the king! Let’s shave the King! May his beard grow for ever! Lather Lather! Amen.

We cannot be sure - he doesn't tell us, but one gets a hint of the anti-monarchy feeling that was common in London at that time. Aged only 19-years, Robert had already patented a complex mechanism for the double-action pedal harp and was working with the renowned maker, Jacob Erat, to perfect this. Jacob later offered to make the instrument for him, paying him £7 per instrument sold but the maker's 1821 death prevented this. Instead, Robert trained as an Anglican priest and late went to Cambridge University. In 1830, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society, and in 1837 he became the Jacksonian Professor of Natural Philosophy. Robert's diary (1819-21), detailing his harp-making but also his life in and around London, is further analysed in my new book, Harp Making in Late-Georgian London.'

Robert Willis (1800-1875)

Robert Darling Willis (1760-1821)

Francis Willis (1718-1807)

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