Wilson
ornithologist
poet
Biography
Wilson, described as an ornithologist and poet, is quoted by Spillane as having written of a 'temporary friend and acquaintance,' a learned Scotsman nicknamed 'Scotty,' who had invented a complete change in the shape of the pianoforte and sent the design to London and Paris. Spillane speculates that this figure could refer either to John Isaac Hawkins or to the Scottish maker Taws, though he notes Hawkins was English rather than Scottish, complicating the identification. No further biographical detail about Wilson himself is given.
Highlights
- Wrote of a friend nicknamed 'Scotty' who had invented a new pianoforte shape and sent it to London and Paris
Source
Daniel Spillane, History of the American Pianoforte (1890), p. 81.
Public domain.