Music Trade Review

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the Period Piano
ITALIAN
Weber Five Foot Period Grands That Represent Good Designing
T
HE development of period cases for
grand pianos represents one of the inter-
esting and forward steps made by the in-
dustry at large during the past few years, and
has indicated the willingness of the manufac-
turers to design their products in accordance
with the preferences of the public when such
are indicated. Some of the period designs re-
flect a high 'aegree of artistry and a keen appre-
ciation of the decorative qualities of the orig-
inals; others, unfortunately, are simply crude
adaptations of period details, but, fortunately,
the good cases have outnumbered the bad.
The designing of piano cases in accordance
with the recognized decorative periods and
styles represents a problem that is not always
fully appreciated either by the dealer or by the
ultimate purchaser. The furniture manufac-
turer, for instance, in designing a chair, a table,
a commode or some other article of furniture
in accordance with the style in vogue at the
time of Louis XV or of William and Mary, or
during the period of the Adam Bros., or Hepple-
white, need only copy an actual example of the
work of a contemporary craftsman and the less
he essays originality of treatment the safer he
will be. On the other hand, there were no
grand piano cases in the form we now know
them a hundred or two hundred years ago-
When the piano case is designed, therefore, it
is necessary to adapt to a new type of furniture
those designs originally intended for furniture
of quite a different sort. It demands not only a
thorough understanding of the decorative
periods, but the artistic ability to so utilize
characteristic details in decorating the piano
case that the result will be faithful to the period
represented and not simply a hodge-podge of
wreaths, ribbons, fluted columns and inlay.
Some excellent examples of what this proper
understanding of decorative values and treat-
ments can accomplish in piano case design are
11
offered in the new line of Weber period grands
recently introduced by the Aeolian Co., which
have served to attract attention not only from
prospects who have been seeking unusually
effective case treatments, but from decorators
and furniture designers who have been much
interested in the manner in which the period
details have been handled in the several models.
The illustrations of the several Weber period
grands, reproduced herewith, give some general
idea of the attractiveness of the cases, but no
picture in black and white can do justice to
the details found in the instruments themselves.
Moreover, the production of these models has
been handled in the manner that permits them
being offered at prices comparable with those
charged for pianos in plain cases.
A particularly interesting instrument in the
line is the Weber Louis XV grand, a five-foot
instrument in walnut. Here is a, style that in
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