John Jardine

Biography

John Jardine, of New York, is noted as having exhibited a 7-octave grand piano in 1835, cited by Dolge alongside the Loud Brothers of Philadelphia as part of early American grand piano building activity, prior to Jonas Chickering's 1843 full iron frame patent. No further biographical detail is given. From Spillane (1890): John Jardine was the practical partner in the firm of Bridgeland & Jardine, which began making pianos in early 1832 at 451 Broadway, New York. He was an excellent tuner, thoroughly educated in all details of piano construction, and an active improver, and was an uncle of Edward Jardine, later head of the organ-building firm Jardine & Sons. In 1833 Bridgeland & Jardine exhibited a square piano with the bass strings crossing over the treble -- apparently the first attempt at an "overstrung" square piano made in America, and, according to Spillane, predating comparable European developments by two years. The same year the firm also exhibited a grand piano at the Mechanics' Institute, and in 1835, from new premises at 378 Bleecker Street, showed a seven-octave grand and a six-octave square that both won the Institute's diploma. John Jardine made pianos on Broadway, New York, a few doors below Grand Street, from 1832 until 1838, according to an account from his nephew Edward Jardine. In 1833 he built two pianos with overstrung bass, an early and experimental use of the technique; one was purchased by a Grand Street property owner and the other by Lewis Webb, who took it to Greenwich, Connecticut. One of his overstrung square pianos, tuned in 1838, was later recalled by Mr. Gray of Albany as unusual, table-shaped, and owned by a Dr. After 1838 Jardine kept only a transient connection to piano-making and never again worked actively in the trade. He and his brother George came to New York from England around the same period and were prominent figures in the city's early pianoforte business. John Jardine, described as being of "the celebrated family of that name," exhibited overstrung square pianos in the United States, a fact which Spillane cites as evidence of American priority in the introduction of overstringing, since this preceded the London claims made for Geroek and Boehm. Spillane notes that Jardine, along with Thomas Loud, was "originally" a Briton, evidently Scotch, though both were credited with advancing the innovation on American soil. John Jardine is credited by Spillane with making an overstrung square piano in 1833, a development that, coupled with Thomas Loud, Sr.'s earlier experimental overstrung uprights, gives America primary credit for producing overstrung pianos. Gray's recollections of the 'Jardine piano' are cited as corroborating evidence, though Gray also recalled hearing of an earlier overstrung piano made in New York by a maker named Herrick.

Highlights

• Of New York, exhibited a 7-octave grand piano in 1835
• Of the noted Jardine family, exhibited overstrung square pianos in the United States prior to 1835, a fact Spillane cites as giving America priority in the introduction of overstringing.
• Practical partner in Bridgeland & Jardine, begun in 1832 at 451 Broadway, New York
• Uncle of Edward Jardine, later head of the organ-building firm Jardine & Sons
• Exhibited what Spillane calls the first "overstrung" square piano made in America in 1833, predating comparable European developments by two years
• Made pianos on Broadway, New York, a few doors below Grand Street, from 1832 to 1838.
• In 1833 built two pianos with overstrung bass, an early and experimental use of the technique.
• Came to New York from England with his brother George around the same period.
• Built an overstrung square piano in 1833, credited alongside Thomas Loud, Sr. with originating overstringing in America

Sources

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

Daniel Spillane, History of the American Pianoforte (1890), pp. 41, 158, 159, 180.

Public domain.