Joseph Smith
inventor
patent holder
Biography
Joseph Smith, of London, made what Spillane calls the first noteworthy application of iron to the piano, in 1799. His interest in iron was not for structural strength or resistance, but incidental to a patent he took out on October 3, 1799, for introducing a tambourine, triangle, and other novelty acoustic effects into the instrument. Spillane dismisses the scheme as an unmusical 'pot-pourri of acoustic effects' from which nothing came.
Highlights
- Made the first noteworthy application of iron to the piano, in 1799
- Patented (Oct 3, 1799) a scheme adding a tambourine, triangle, and similar acoustic effects to the piano, to which end he incidentally applied iron
Source
Daniel Spillane, History of the American Pianoforte (1890), p. 29.
Public domain.