I'm pretty sure the "Remerius Liessen" has a spliced or replaced neck, but I'm not positive. andy r
On 11/30/07, Alexander Batov <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hi Andrew, > > As an update-correction to my yesterday's post where I mentioned (quote) > The > earliest guittars with watch keys by Preston can probably be dated by > 1760s > (end of quote), there is at least one EG in the V&A labelled "Remerius > Liessen,1756" which is, according to the inscription in the display case, > "an early example of the use of the 'watch-key tuning' mechanism". I do > not > remember what this instrument looks like but I will have a look on the > next > occasion; i.e. there is a possibility that the mechanism could be a later > replacement. Another EG from the same collection, by "W.Gibson, 1765" has > worm-gear tuners. So if the first one is not converted (the second is > definitely genuine) then both instruments seem to predate the date of the > quoted advertisement. This doesn't exclude of course that Hintz couldn't > be > an inventor of either of them or, indeed, both, but ... > > Alexander > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Andrew Rutherford > To: Alexander Batov > Cc: cittern list > Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 3:43 PM > Subject: Re: [CITTERN] Re: Preston tuner history > > Hi cittern people, > > The instrument maker and publisher John Frederick Hintz, in an > advertisement > in "The Public Advertiser", March 17th 1766, claims to have invented > something that may be the watchkey tuning system (not to mention the > instrument itself): "...after many years Study and Application in > endeavouring to bring this favourite instrument the Guittar (being the > first > Inventor) still to a greater perfection in regard to tuning and keeping > the > same in Tune, which has always been a principal Defect as well as > inconvenient, has now found out, on a principal entirely new, several > Methods, whereby it is much easier and exacter tuned, and also remains > much > longer in tune than any Method hitherto known." > > I got this passage from Lanie Graf at the Moravian Archives in > Pennsylvania. > She's studying Hintz and his relationship with the Moravian community in > London (and America). Peter Holman is also looking into this topic, I > understand. > > andy rutherford > > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > --
