Thomas Jefferson

Biography

Thomas Jefferson, referred to by Spillane as 'the father of democracy,' encountered one of John Isaac Hawkins' 'portable grand' pianos while visiting Philadelphia in 1800. Struck by the instrument, he arranged to acquire one for his home at Monticello. In a letter to his daughter written that year, quoted in the text, Jefferson described the piano as the invention of 'a very ingenious, modest and poor young man' and accurately noted its distinctive perpendicular stringing, the equal string length achieved despite the reduced height, and the arrangement whereby the three unison strings for each note were tuned together on a single screw, making the instrument unusually stable in tune.

Highlights

• Saw a Hawkins portable grand piano in Philadelphia in 1800 and ordered one for Monticello
• Described the instrument's tuning stability and stringing in a letter to his daughter

Source

Daniel Spillane, History of the American Pianoforte (1890), p. 83.

Public domain.