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Vol. 86 July 18, 2026 No. 19

Wornum

English

piano maker inventor

Biography

Wornum was an English piano-maker credited with the 'tape-check' action. Spillane contends that many of the ideas embodied in Wornum's action were anticipated by Timothy Gilbert's American patent of February 10, 1841, which outlined an upright action and a metal back-and-plate design.

Highlights

  • Credited in England with the 'tape-check' piano action.
  • Spillane contends Timothy Gilbert's 1841 American patent anticipated many of the ideas later claimed by Wornum's action.

Source

Daniel Spillane, History of the American Pianoforte (1890), p. 91.

Public domain.

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