John Behrent

Biography

According to testimony gathered by John W. Jordan of the Pennsylvania Historical Society and the manuscripts of the historian J. J. Watson, John Behrent made pianofortes in Philadelphia in 1775, a date Spillane treats as establishing Philadelphia's priority as the site of the first American-made pianoforte. In 1775 Behrent advertised that he had completed 'an extraordinary instrument, by the name of the pianoforte, in mahogany in the manner of the harpsichord,' and lived on Third Street below Brown, near the army barracks. His name is possibly German or Swedish, suggesting immigrant origin. He is elsewhere misprinted as 'Belmont' in Bishop's history of American arts and industries. Behrent is not heard of again in connection with pianoforte-making after the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, which Spillane suggests curtailed his career. John Behrent (rendered 'Behreut' in the source text) is credited by Spillane as the maker of the first pianoforte produced on the American continent, built in Philadelphia in 1775. His work opens Spillane's chapter on the Philadelphia piano trade, which the author identifies as the principal center of the business until about 1835.

Highlights

• Credited by Spillane as producing the first pianoforte made on the American continent, built in Philadelphia in 1775
• Made the first American pianoforte in Philadelphia in 1775, per testimony gathered by John W. Jordan and the manuscripts of historian J. J. Watson.
• Advertised in 1775 an 'extraordinary instrument, by the name of the pianoforte, in mahogany in the manner of the harpsichord.'

Source

Daniel Spillane, History of the American Pianoforte (1890), p. 76.

Public domain.