Charles S. Sackmeister

Biography

Charles S. Sackmeister was a German-born piano maker and inventor active in New York in the 1820s and 1830s. He exhibited a square piano at an early Mechanics' Institute exhibition and was known for his skill in designing piano "scales" -- the layout of stringing, bridges, and scaling. Around 1827 he devised a markedly improved scale, placing heavier wire in the upper treble and repositioning the bridges to match; Robert and William Nunns, rather than copying the idea, purchased it from him outright, and within a few years it became common property among New York and Philadelphia makers. Sackmeister patented a down-striking piano action on May 17, 1830. Spillane notes that he "drifted around the city" drawing scales and modelling improvements for other makers who profited from his skill while giving him little credit, attributing this to the era's prejudice against Germans and comparing his treatment to that of the maker Gutwaldt.

Highlights

• Sold the Nunns brothers an innovative string/bridge "scale" design around 1827 that became common property among New York and Philadelphia makers
• Patented a down-striking piano action on May 17, 1830
• Drifted between shops modelling improvements for other makers, receiving little credit, which Spillane attributes to prejudice against Germans

Source

Daniel Spillane, History of the American Pianoforte (1890), pp. 149, 151, 152.

Public domain.