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The Pianoforte at the Great Exhibition of 1851: Investigating Cultural Value a Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor Of

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The Pianoforte at the Great Exhibition of 1851: Investigating Cultural Value a Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor Of 1 The Pianoforte at the Great Exhibition of 1851: Investigating Cultural Value A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Bethan Evie Smith Goldsmiths, University of London 2017 2 Declaration I hereby declare that this thesis has been composed by me and that the work described within is my own except where explicitly stated otherwise. I further declare that this work has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification except as specified. Bethan Evie Smith 3 Acknowledgements I am grateful for the support and advice of my supervisor Professor Simon McVeigh of Goldsmiths Music Department, without whom this project would almost certainly have been abandoned, and my upgrade examiners, Dr Tom Perchard and Anthony Pryer, also of Goldsmiths Music Department. I would like to thank my husband, Dr Kevin Smith, for his ingenious creation of a pre-decimal calculator and general encouragement throughout, my daughter Abby Smith, who acted as my ‘modern subject’ for the purposes of Chapter 5, my friend Dr Suzanne Clayton, who kindly assisted with the proofreading process, and Véronique Brown and Tim Crapper, who provided English translations of French language primary sources. I have been very generously assisted by museum curators, conservators, archivists, pianists and university academics throughout this project.* The individuals I would like to thank include: Jonathan Santa Maria Bouquet (Russell Collection, Edinburgh); Gary Branch (Finchcocks Musical Museum, Kent); Emyr Davies (Museum of Wales, St Fagans, Cardiff); Taya Drake (The National Trust at Speke Hall, Liverpool); Pierre Geavert (The Musical Instrument Museum, Brussels, Belgium); Emma Hardy (Geffrye Museum, London); Julia Hoffbrand (The Museum of London); Angela Kenny (The Royal Commission Archives, Imperial College, London); Hayley King (The National Trust at Speke Hall, Liverpool); Dr Alastair Laurence (Finchcocks Musical Museum, Kent); Dr Naomi Luxford (University College, London); Dr Paul Martin (University of Leicester); Helen McConnell (Blaise Castle Museum, Bristol); William Newton (Victoria & Albert Museum, London); Christopher Nobbs (The Royal Academy of Music Museum, London); Dr Jenny Nex (The Royal College of Music Museum, London); Professor David Oswell (Goldsmiths College, London, Sociology Department); Dr Roger Parker (Kings College, London); William Phillips (Buckinghamshire County Museum); Robert Simonson (Surrey History Centre); Janet Snowman (The Royal Academy of Music, London); Karin Walton (Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery); Dr Heather Wiebe (Kings College, London). 4 *The Institutions listed are where these persons were based at the time they were consulted in connection with my research I am also grateful to the staff at the following institutions whose assistance enabled me to access resources: Cornwall Record Office, Truro; London Metropolitan Archives, London; Norfolk Record Office, Norwich; Reading University Library; Reading University Special Collections; Senate House Library, London; The Bodleian Libraries, Oxford; The British Library, London; The British Museum, London; The Maughan Library, London; The National Art Library, London; The Royal Academy of Music Library, London. Particular thanks go to Andy Lamb (Bate Collection, Oxford), Dr Joanna Cooper (Natural History Museum, London) and Max Donnelly (Victoria & Albert Museum, London, Furniture Department) for their willingness to identify images based on photographs of piano taken by myself. Photographs and images have been reproduced with the kind permission of Bristol Culture; Buckinghamshire County Museum; Finchcocks Musical Museum*; The Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford; The Bate Collection, University of Oxford; The Fashion Museum, Bath and North East Somerset Council; The Geffrye Museum; The Mary Evans Picture Library; The Museum of London; The Museum of Musical Instruments, Brussels; The Museum of Wales at St Fagans; The National Portrait Gallery; The National Trust; The Royal Collection Trust; The Surrey History Centre; The University of Edinburgh; The University of Reading Special Collections; The Victoria & Albert Museum. Although Finchcocks Musical Museum closed in December 2015, the images used in my work were taken in July 2014 when the instruments concerned were in the possession of Richard & Katrina Burnett. Most instruments in the collection were sold at auction in March 2016 and accordingly the identity of owners as at the time of submission of my thesis is unknown. 5 Abstract My thesis is an object-based study which uses the piano as an investigative tool with which to explore cultural value from the perspective of different audiences in attendance at the Great Exhibition of 1851. In a nutshell, my approach is to use an object to explore how a specific historical event was understood. The piano proves to be a provocative agent; physical complexity (both internal and external), the ability to signify multiple meanings and a varied price tag are all relevant characteristics. The thesis examines the perspective of the Exhibition organisers, juxtaposed with networks of other human and non- human actors, focusing specifically on how the materiality of objects and the Exhibition building contributed to meaning. The thesis also considers how visitors and judges might have evaluated exhibits taking into account what knowledge and ‘habitus’ would have shaped their understanding. The piano maker’s perspective is investigated with a view to establishing why the range of instruments displayed was so diverse and whether or not the items chosen reflected normal everyday output. The consumer’s perspective questions how class purchasing power might have impacted how visitors understood the designation ‘cheap’ which was applied to some products, including the piano. Some of my work tackles issues already identified by Exhibition scholars such as visuality, imperialism, consumerism and the question of working-class inclusion, using alternate theoretical methods. Most of the thesis, however, ventures into new territory, specifically the significance of materiality and the role of sound. My work also questions whether the piano was understood primarily as a sound producer or as a decorative object adopting a constructivist methodology rather than the more usual technological approach. In wider terms, my most significant contribution, both to the fields of New Organology and Material Culture Studies, concerns the application of physical evidence to answer wider cultural questions. 6 The Pianoforte at the Great Exhibition of 1851: investigating cultural value Contents: Declaration 2 Acknowledgements 3 Abstract 5 Contents pages 6 List of figures 12 Abbreviations, conventions and currency 21 Chapter 1: Introduction: Overview, Literature Review, Sources and Method 23 1.1: Introduction 26 1.2: Literature Review 31 1.2.1: The Piano at the Great Exhibition 31 1.2.2: Great Exhibition Scholarship 33 1.2.3: Piano History Scholarship 38 1.3: Identifying problems with sources 42 1.3.1: Introduction 42 1.3.2: Exhibition literature and eye-witness accounts 43 1.3.3: Some problems with general source-types 47 1.4: Theoretical Approaches 52 1.5: Method/Methodology 54 1.5.1: Sound Studies 54 7 1.5.2: New Organology 55 1.5.3: New Musicology 56 1.5.4: Social/Economic History 58 1.6: Summary 60 Chapter 2: Commissioners, Committees and Artefacts: exploring the role of the piano as actor 62 2.1: Introduction 62 2.2: The Human Actors 62 2.3: The Objects 65 2.4: The Building 71 2.5: The Acoustic Environment 74 2.6: Temperature, Humidity and Lighting 77 2.7: The Evolution of the Classification System 83 2.8: Why the Piano Resisted Classification 89 2.9: Mid-century Classification: a Broader Perspective 93 2.10: How were the objects arranged? 96 2.11: Alternative spatial positioning and alternate narratives 99 2.11.1:The piano as embodiment of colonial and foreign resources: an imperialist-based display 101 2.11.2:The piano as process: a labour-based display 104 2.11.3:The piano displayed according to object-type: how the Exhibition was originally intended 106 2.12: Conclusion 110 8 Chapter 3: Visitor experience at the Great Exhibition: the sight and sound of the piano 111 3.1: Introduction 111 3.2: Exploring the Physical Limitations of the Building 114 3.3: Considering Aesthetic Knowledge 118 3.4: Assessing ways of looking 128 3.5: The soundscape of the Exhibition: some specific problems 136 3.6: Considering Musical Knowledge 142 3.7: Assessing ways of listening 147 3.8: Conclusion 155 Chapter 4: Professional taste at the Great Exhibition: evaluating sight and sound according to judicial criteria 158 4.1: Introduction 158 4.2: Explaining the Judicial System 160 4.3: The Class XXX Jury: exploring aesthetic taste 165 4.3.1: Introduction 165 4.3.2: Craftsmanship, style and ornamentation 168 4.3.3: Ornamentation and fitness for purpose: evidence from contemporary pianos 179 4.4: The Class XA Jury; evaluating sound 186 4.5: The role of musical knowledge: investigating tone 189 4.6: Considering knowledge and preference: investigating touch 193 9 4.6.1: The subjective evidence: contemporary musicians’ assessment of touch-weight 194 4.6.2: The empirical evidence: organological measurement of touch-weight 195 4.7: ‘Habitus’: the role of personal associations 201 4.8: The Council Medal Controversy: competition within the Exhibition and beyond 204 4.9: Conclusion 209 Chapter 5: Piano manufacture at the Great Exhibition: investigating diversity 212 5.1: Introduction 212 5.2: Exploring
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