Richard Bury
patent holder
inventor
Biography
Richard Bury, of Albany, was granted a patent on August 21, 1819 for a pianoforte with glass strings. In his design, strips of glass were tuned and positioned to be played from a keyboard, struck by hammers covered with woollen felting on the cabinet-piano-action principle, intended to produce the best possible tone. Bury's patent was the first taken out by a resident of Albany, though he was not himself a piano-maker and appears to have had no further involvement in the trade.
Highlights
- Of Albany; granted a patent on August 21, 1819 for a pianoforte with glass strings struck by felt-covered hammers on the cabinet-piano-action principle
- Held the first patent taken out by an Albany resident, though he was not himself a piano-maker
Source
Daniel Spillane, History of the American Pianoforte (1890), pp. 138, 139.
Public domain.