Stodart and Kirshaw                            at Piano Auctions 9th December

Two very interesting items in the sale at Piano Auctons on 9th December

This beautifuf grand piano was made by Matthew and Willam Stodart in 1796 - one of the very first with a 5½-octave compass.

An exquisite satinwood nameboard and perfect ivory keys.

Images above and below bear witness to the original good condition, and expert restoration work by Andy Durand in 2014 in consultation with Graham Walker and David Hunt.

The introduction of the distinctive style of English grand pianos is accredited to Americus Backers in the early to mid 1770s, and Robert Stodart was the first to follow in his footsteps, some years before John Broadwood, whose first grands were dated 1787.  Matthew and Willam were his nephews, who took over the business.

When Josef Haydn came to London in 1794, he was presented with a Stodart grand, and  it is believed that he composed his final three sonatas using that instrument.  

This pian was photographed an discussed in Harpsichord and Fortepiano magazine 29/2,  spring 2025.

It will be in the auction on 9th December with an estimate of £8,000 - £12,000

Ivory registration reference NPCH2J7F.

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A spinet by John Kirshaw, Manchester

Is this a 'new discovery'?  There are seven spinets listed in Boalch-Mould Online.  Three are in museums, but the historical data on the other four are so sparse that a match is not possible.  

We note the characteristic Kirshaw details of the sharp acute curve between the front and the bentside, and the stand with three cabriole legs.  We can confidently estimate the date of this one to the third quarter of the eighteenth century, and to the middle of that period, say c. 1762...

Images by courtesy of the owner of the Stodart and Piano Auctions Ltd

www.pianoauctions.co.uk