A. J. Hipkins

Biography

A. J. Hipkins wrote "Description and History of the Pianoforte," published by Novello & Company, London, in 1896. Dolge calls him "an earnest scholar and careful writer" who "successfully avoids the many pitfalls of the lexicographers," giving a clear and succinct account of the piano's development from its earliest stages to the modern concert grand. Dolge judges the book well worth careful reading by anyone interested in the piano industry, favorably contrasting it with Edgar Brinsmead's earlier history. Hipkins is quoted by Dolge in connection with John Isaac Hawkins's early upright piano (patented about 1800), characterizing it as "a remarkable bundle of inventions" while denying that it qualified as a true musical instrument due to its unsatisfactory tone. The text cites Hipkins as an authority on the subject but gives no further biographical detail about him -- no dates, nationality, or occupation are stated beyond his role as the source of this assessment. From Spillane (1890): A. J. Hipkins is cited repeatedly by Spillane as a leading authority on piano history. Spillane credits him with bringing forward, a few years before this writing, a claim that the London maker Geroek built an overstrung cottage piano and square in 1835 to designs by the flute maker Theobald Boehm, though Spillane disputes its significance given an earlier, similar design by "Fischer" found in 1835 British patent drawings. Spillane elsewhere takes issue with Hipkins's brief dismissal of Thomas Loud's 1802 upright patent as merely "diagonal" rather than a true anticipation of overstringing, and states that Hipkins, while consistently linking Alpheus Babcock to the introduction of the one-piece metal plate, was in error about the real nature and extent of Babcock's patent. Hipkins, described by Spillane as one of the most eminent writers on piano history, was at the time of writing associated with the celebrated firm of Broadwood & Company of London. Hipkins supported the claim crediting Bartolommeo Cristofori as inventor of the piano, placing the date at 1709 following the historian Rimbault. He also established, from inscriptions on surviving instruments made by Cristofori, that the maker's correct name was Cristofori rather than the erroneous 'Cristofali' used by Maffei and repeated by many later writers. Hipkins is cited by Spillane as the author of the article "Pianoforte" in the Encyclopaedia Britannica and as an authority on the piano in England. Spillane recounts an anecdote from Hipkins concerning Pierre Erard's pursuit of a patent extension before the House of Lords in 1835, and later notes that Hipkins and other English authorities overlooked Pierre Frederick Fischer's role in the history of overstringing. Hipkins was the author of a historical work on keyboard instruments. Spillane reproduces in his own book an illustration of a Southwell upright piano (owned by W. Simpson, Esq., of Dundee, Scotland) that had originally appeared in Hipkins's historical work, crediting Hipkins for the source.

Highlights

• Quoted by Dolge describing John Isaac Hawkins's upright piano as "a remarkable bundle of inventions," but not a musical instrument.
• Wrote "Description and History of the Pianoforte" (Novello & Company, London, 1896), praised by Dolge as clear and succinct
• Described as one of the most eminent writers on piano history, associated with Broadwood & Company of London
• Supported the claim crediting Cristofori as inventor of the piano, dated to 1709
• Established from inscriptions on surviving instruments that the maker's correct name was Cristofori, not 'Cristofali'
• Author of the article 'Pianoforte' in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, cited by Spillane for an anecdote about Pierre Erard's patent-extension case.
• Author of a historical work on keyboard instruments; Spillane credits Hipkins' book as the source of an illustration of a Southwell square-form upright piano owned by W. Simpson of Dundee
• Publicized a claim that Geroek of Cornhill built an overstrung piano and square in 1835 to Theobald Boehm's designs, presenting it as a significant discovery.
• Cited repeatedly by Spillane as an authority on piano history, though Spillane disputes his treatment of Thomas Loud's 1802 patent and Alpheus Babcock's metal-plate patent.

Sources

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911), pp. 53, 425.

Daniel Spillane, History of the American Pianoforte (1890), pp. 16, 17, 25, 26, 35, 39, 41, 43.

Public domain.