Lot number 2810 - Auction 141
HISTORISMUS TAFELKLAVIER VON HORNUNG & MØLLER

HISTORISM SQUARE PIANO BY HORNUNG & MØLLER Copenhagen, Denmark, around 1870 Walnut, mahogany, various woods, 82 keys of ebonized wood and ivory overlays (CITES certificate available), solid cast iron frame. H. 91,5 cm, w. 190 cm, d. 86 cm. Front plaque 'Hof-Pianofortefabrik KIÖBENHAVN', on cast iron marked Hornung & Møller, number 6347. Rectangular body with rounded sides, on four octagonal, unscrewable baluster legs, on casters, openwork carved soundbox cover, hinged lyre-shaped pedal bracket, pair of brass side candlesticks. Range C1 to a4, stringing C1 to Fingle-string, wound, G1 to a4, two-tone, plain iron strings. The square piano enjoyed great popularity in the 19th century. For example, Franz Schubert or Clara and Robert Schumann composed numerous works on table pianos. The special feature of table pianos is the design, as the strings run across the keys, so that this arrangement allows for a rectangular piano body. The rectangular shape is reminiscent of a table (square). Conrad Christian Hornung founded the piano manufacturer Hornung in Copenhagen in 1827 and in 1851 the employee Hans Petter Møller took over the management. The company became a purveyor to the court of the Danish royal family from 1843. The Copenhagen piano and grand piano manufacturer Hornung & Møller / Möller was the largest piano factory in Denmark and an estimated 50,000 instruments were produced until the factory closed in 1972. An earlier model is in the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg. Kl. Funierschäden, Kratzer, keyboard min. rubbed, tuning required, ready to play, hammer action works, carved body cover rest. Literature: Cf. Beurmann, "Das Buch vom Klavier: die Sammlung Beurmann im Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg, 2007, pp. 160/161. Provenance: Lower Rhine private collection.