Robert Wornum

Robert Wornum (1780-1852) was a piano maker working in London during the first half of the 19th century. He is best known for introducing small cottage and oblique uprights and an action considered to be the predecessor of the modern upright action [David Crombie "Piano" GPI Books, San Francisco. 1995. p.105] which was used in Europe through the early 20th century. Art historian Ralph Nicholson Wornum (1812-1877) was his son. ["Ralph Nicholson Wornum" "Dictionary of National Biography" vol.63. Smith, Elder & Co., London. p.31]

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Robert Wornum was born on 1 October 1780, son of music seller and violin maker Robert Wornum (1742-1815), who worked at 42 Wigmore Street, near Cavendish Square, London. ["The Musical Directory for 1794" p.71, quoted in William Sandys and Simon A. Forster, "The History of the Violin" William Reeves, London, 1864. p.283] Piano historian Alfred J. Hipkins wrote that he was originally intended for the church, [Alfred J. Hipkins "Robert Wornum" "A Dictionary of Music and Musicians" vol.4. Macmillan & Co., London. 1889. p.489] but by 1810 was foreman at Wilkinson & Co., music sellers at 3 Great Windmill Street with warerooms at 13 Haymarket, who in 1809, due to "the great increase of their manufactory of pianos" had determined to close down their other musical enterprises, and had reduced their entire stock of music to half price and offered favorable terms on all instruments out on hire at the time. [advertisement. "The Times" London, Aug. 22, 1809. p.1]

Wilkinson & Wornum and the "Unique" upright

In 1810 George Wilkinson borrowed £12,000 ($53,000 [the average exchange being given as 40 dollars to 9 pounds sterling; "Exchange - The United States of America" C. T. Watkins "A Portable Cyclopaedia" Richard Phillips, London 1810] ) to form a partnership with Wornum, and leased houses at 315 Oxford street and Princes street, adjoining Hanover Square, for warerooms and a factory as well as residences, with the yard behind 11 Princes street used for seasoning lumber. [Henry Broadhurst Wilkinson. "Souvenir of the Broadhurst Wilkinsons" Manchester. 1902. p24-26]

In 1811 Wornum patented a small diagonally strung upright with two strings per note ["Retrospect of the state of Music in Great Britain" A. F. C. Kollman, ed, Quarterly Musical Register, No. 1, January 1, 1812, quoted by Edward F. Rimbault "The Pianoforte". Robert Cocks & Co. 1860. p.402] about three feet three inches tall (99 cm) styled the "unique". ["Piano-forte" "Penny Cyclopaedia" vol.18. Charles Knight & Co. London, 1840. p.142] In William Southwell's "sticker action", patented 1807 and used in tall cabinet uprights, [Rosamond Harding, "The Piano-Forte" Gresham Books, Old Woking, Surrey. 1977. p.226] the escapement was attached to the key and acted against the padded lower end of the long sticker hinged at the top to the butt of the hammer lever. Wornum's escapement worked directly upon a padded notch on the hammer butt. The hammer was returned to its resting position by a spring fixed to the hammer rail instead of by the weight of the sticker. Like Southwell, Wornum used "overdampers" with the damper levers hinged from a crosswise rail above the hammers and wires to communicate the motion of the key, but these were acted upon by the backward oriented base of the escapement instead of by the sticker. [Harding p. 230] These 5½ octave pianos were arranged so that the front of the piano, with the keys and action could be unlatched and swung away from the strung portion; [Lawrence M. Nalder "The Modern Piano" Gresham Press, Old Woking, Surrey. 1927. p.117] the right hand pedal raised the dampers as usual, while the left pedal muted all of the left hand strings. [piano collector C. F. Colt identified this as a device to aid in tuning because the arrangement of the action prevented the strings to be muted off in the ordinary manner. C. F. Colt. "The Early Piano" Stainer & Bell, London. 1981 p.58, 118]

Wilkinson & Wornum's Oxford street facilities were destroyed by fire in October 1812. The proprietors quickly announced that the greater part of their finished stock had been saved, in part by their neighbors and other volunteers, ["To the Public - Dreadful Fire!" "The Times" October 13, 1812 p.2] and was ready for sale at 11 Princes street only a few days afterwards, [advertisement "The Times" October 16, 1812 p.1] but their upwards of seventy workmen lost all of their tools and were unable to return to work. [advertisement "The Times" October 27, 1812 p.1] At a meeting of their creditors in November, Wilkinson's father, Charles Wilkinson, agreed not to make a claim against them and guaranteed payment to the other creditors, and in early 1813 he forgave what the partners' owed him. Wilkinson established his own piano factory behind his new house at 32 Howland street, [Broadhurst Wilkinson, p.25-27] and Wornum, apparently having sold his patent to music seller John Watlen, of Leicester place, [advertisement "The Times" November 11, 1812 p.1; John Watlen was a composer, music seller and tuner, whose business at Edinburgh had failed 1798, and had set up on his own in London by 1807. By 1811 he advertised he had sold over 1,000 pianos, and offered newly patented six octave oblique pianos, "having superiority over all others, being only 19 inches deep", priced from 45 to as much as 80 guineas ($210 to $375) which he later indicated he "always had the advantage of the inventor of the above to superintend his manufactory", and following the fire at Oxford street advertised "the Patentee informs the Public, Merchants..., &c. that the Oblique cannot be had any where else but at his house". Watlen's piano manufactory failed in 1827 - Frank Kidson "John Watlen" "Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians" vol.5, The MacMillan Company, New York 1911. p.438; advertisement "The Times" September 5, 1811, p.1; advertisement "The Times" November 11, 1812; advertisement "The Times" August 15, 1815, p.1; advertisement "The Times" February 28, 1823 p.1; George Elwick "The Bankrupt Directory...December 1820 to April 1843" Simpkin, Marshall, and Co., London, 1843. p. 433] removed to 42 Wigmore street. [two early pianos also bear the nearby address 3 Welbeck street, by 1817 occupied by booksellers C. and J. Ollier - Arthur W. J. Ord-Hume "Robert Wornum" "Encyclopedia of the Piano" Taylor & Francis, London. 2006 p.427]

The "Cottage" and "Piccolo" uprights, equal tension, and the tape check action

In 1813 Wornum introduced a second upright design with vertical strings, measuring about four feet six inches tall (137 cm), [Daniel Spillane, "History of the American Pianoforte" D. Spillane, New York. 1891, p.] originally called the "harmonic" and later the "cottage upright". [Harding. p.229] In 1820 he patented a system of "equal tension" achieved by using a single gauge of wire for all the treble strings, and carefully predetermined wound bass strings, ["Recent Patents" "The London Journal of Arts and Sciences" vol.1, no.5. Sherwood, Neely, and Jones, London. 1820. p.340] which he claimed would remain in tune better than pianos with different gauges and tensions in different parts of their scale. ["Wornum's Patent Pianoforte" John E. Hall, ed. "The Port Folio", vol.9. Harrison Hall, Philadelphia, 1821. p.129]

In 1826 he patented improvements to what he called the "professional" piano, including a "single action," a version of the sticker action with an additional lever carrying a backcheck operating against the hammer head and which raised the damper wire, [Harding. p.231] and a "double action", with a similarly arranged backcheck lever, but with an escapement on the principle of the English grand action [Nalder p.119] mounted on a separate "crank lever" hinged from the hammer rail, and with this lever tied to the hammer by a "dog spring... to keep the hammer from dancing after the blow," the earlier fixed hammer return spring being omitted, [Nalder. p.120] as well as a pizzicato pedal placed between the two ordinary pedals with linkages to press the dampers against the strings. [although one reviewer stated this was "for the purpose of withdrawing them from the wires" - "Recent Patents" "London Journal of Arts and Sciences" vol.14, no.79. Sherwood, Gilbert & Piper, London. p.358] Two years later he patented further improvements to the sticker action implemented by extending the lower lever of the sticker so it could be checked by a button fastened to the key. [Harding, p.232]

According to Hipkins Wornum perfected his crank, or "tied" double action in 1829, and introduced it in both cabinet and three feet eight inch tall (112 cm) [advertisement "The Musical World," new series vol. 2, London, 1838, p.299, reproduced by Harding, p.398] "piccolo" uprights the following year. [Alfred J. Hipkins "The History of the Pianoforte" "Scientific American Supplement" no. 385. Munn & Co. New York. 1883] This action replaced the spring from the 1826 double action with a flexible tie fastened to the hammer butt and to a wire mounted on the crank lever. The crank lever also operated a check working against an extension of the hammer butt and raised the damper wire. This arrangement has come to be known as the "tape check action", but in 1879 piano historian Edgar Brinsmead applied this description to actions patented by Wornum in 1842 [Edgar Brinsmead "History of the Pianoforte". Novello, Ewer & Co. London 1879. p.167] and so the tied double action, which had been described in the 1840 edition of the "Penny Cyclopaedia" as "the invention of Mr. Wornum, and patented by him some ten or twelve years ago," is frequently associated with the later patent, and its use dated no earlier than 1837. [Philip R. Belt, et al. "The Piano" W. W. Norton & Company, New York 1988 p.44]

Wornum's improvements in uprights were adopted sooner on the Continent than in England [Oscar Commettant "Royaume-Uni de Grande-Bretagne et d'Irlande." "La Musique, Les Musiciens et les Instruments de Musique chez les Différents peuples du monde." Michel Lévy Frères, Paris. 1869. p.652] - obliquely strung uprights were introduced by Roller & Blanchet at the 1827 Exposition in Paris, [Crombie p.42] Camille Pleyel introduced copies of English pianos, ["Rapport du Jury Central sur les Produits de l'Industrie Française éxposés en 1834" tome 1. Imprimerie Royale, Paris, 1836. p.286] including small vertically strung uprights after Wornum's pattern in 1830, ["N.23 - MM. Pleyel (Ignace) et compagnie" "Exposition de 1834, sur la Place de Concorde: Notice des produits de l'industrie française" Everat, Paris 1834 p.15] and Hermann Lichtenthal received the first patent for a tape check double action in 1832. [H. Lichtenthal, "Piano picolo" Belg. No. 538, Order no.113, reproduced by Harding p.247] Hipkins related that Pleyel's success caused the double action to be called the "French action" in England, [although the tied action apparently continued to be referred to as the "English action" in France - Nalder p.121] and by 1880 he predicted that it would eventually replace Southwell's sticker action there, having already been generally adopted in France and Germany. [Alfred J. Hipkins "The Pianoforte" "A Dictionary of Music and Musicians" vol.2. MacMillan & Co., London, 1880. p.719]

Double action grands and downstriking actions

, for a new factory. [The Wendover Estate: Counterpart leases and associated correspondence relating to nos. 15 and 17 Store Street, a piano manufactory and premises. Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies ref. D 146/95, 1830-1837] By 1832 he opened a music hall at number 16, [Harding, p.425; the hall seated between six and seven hundred, and in 1879 cost £4 4s ($18.70) to rent, or £5 5s ($23.30) with the use of a piano - Charles Dickens, Jr. "Public Halls" "Dickens's Dictionary of London" Charles Dickens & Evans, London. 1879] and by 1838 offered patent double action piccolo, cottage and cabinet uprights for up to 75 guineas ($350 ["Exchange - Great Britain" Michael Walsh "The Mercantile Arithmetic, adapted to the Commerce of the United States" Charles J. Hendee, Boston. 1836 p.186] ), as well as 5 foot 4 inch long (163 cm) "pocket" and 7 foot 10 inch (237 cm) [Harding p.175b] "imperial grands" for up to 75 and 90 guineas ($420) respectively. He advertised that the success of his piccolo piano had "induced certain manufacturers to announce and sell instruments of a different character under the same name, by which the public [was] deceived". [advertisement "The Musical World," new series vol. 2, London, 1838, p.299, reproduced in Harding, p.398] The new [J. J. Kent "The Dining Room; The Dwelling-rooms of a House." "The Architectural Magazine, and Journal." cond. C. Loudon, vol. 2, Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longman, London. 1835. p.232-3] 6-octave pocket and 6½ octave imperial grands were constructed not only with the strings above the hammers but with an entirely separate structure hinged at the spine so that the wrestplank, wood frame, sounding board and bridges were all placed above the strings, [Harding p.169, 175b] forming a rigid uninterrupted construction similar to his uprights as well as what he would later use in downstriking pianos. They were furnished with tape check double actions arranged like those of the uprights. [Colt. p.118] [Harding p.246]

Wornum later improved his grand actions by adding a sustaining spring tying the hammer butt and the short end of the crank lever, intended to improve repetition and "assist in the forte," ["Fig. 9. Mr. Wornum's new Grand Action" "Penny Encyclopaedia" p.141] but eventually abandoned the inverted construction due to its inconvenient form ["Musical Instruments in the Great Exhibition" "London Journal of Arts, Sciences and Manufactures" vol.39 conjoined series, W. Newton, London. 1852 p.38] and turned his attention instead to manufacturing "overstruck" or "downstriking" horizontal pianos, where the hammers are located above the strings. In 1842 he patented the application of a similarly fastened pivoting hammer return spring to downstriking actions for grands and squares, [Harding p.263] and included claims for a new disposition of the crank lever and escapement, as well as a method of operating the damper in uprights either with a leather strip attached to the hammer butt or a wire attached to the key. [patent specification, "The Record of Patent Inventions", W. Lake, London. 1842 p.42-44]

Robert Wornum & Sons

Robert Wornum & Sons exhibited cottage uprights, and downstriking bichord semi-grand and square pianos. ["Additional List of Exhibitors in the Glass Palace." "Daily News" April 29, 1851 p.2] Their "Albion" semi-grand was noted as a good example of how the downstriking action allowed for a simpler and more economical construction without metallic bracing, ["Musical Instruments in the Great Exhibition"] and they were awarded a prize medal for their improved piccolo piano. ["Awards - Class Xa." "The Annual Register" F. & J. Rivington, London. 1852. p.521]

Robert Wornum died on 29 September 1852 ["Obituary" "The Gentleman's Magazine", vol.38, John Bowyer Nichols and Son, London. 1852. p.549] after a short illness. [Deaths "The Times" October 4, 1852 p.7] He was succeeded by his son Alfred Nicholson Wornum. [Ord-Hume "Encyclopedia of the Piano" p.427]

In 1856 A. N. Wornum patented improvements to downstriking actions with a spring keeping the crank lever in constant contact with the key, as well as a new arrangement for the regulating button and a method for improving repetition. ["Specifications of Patents Recently Filed" "Mechanics Magazine" vol.66, no.1754. Robertson, Brooman & Co., London. 1857. p.280] Robert Wornum & Sons exhibited cottage and grand pianos at the 1862 International Exhibition in London, as well as a "folding" square piano arranged on a stand so that it could swing up and out of the way when not in use, [John Timbs "The Industry, Science, & Art of the age: Or, The International Exhibition of 1862 Popularly Described from its Origin to its Close" Lockwood & Co. London, 1863 p.150; Robert Hunt, "Handbood of the Industrial Department of the International Exhibition, 1862" vol.2, Edward Stanford, London, 1862 p.133] receiving a medal for "novelty of invention in piano", ["Class XVI - Musical Instruments" "International Exhibition, 1862 - Medals and Honourable Mentions Awarded by the International Juries" second edition. George Edward Eyre and William Spottiswoode, London. 1862. p.218] and they exhibited a piccolo upright, as well as moderately priced downstriking grand and square pianos without metal bracings at the 1867 Universal Exposition in Paris, [Frederick Clay "Report upon Musical Instruments (Class 10) - Pianofortes" "Reports on the Paris Exhibition, 1867" vol. 2. George E. Eyer and William Spottiswoode, London. 1868 p.200] where they were awarded a bronze medal. ["Groupe II, Classe 10 - Instruments de Musique" "Exposition Universelle de 1867, à Paris. Liste Générale des Récompenses Décernées par le Jury International" Imprimerie Impériale, Paris 1867. p.54]

A. N. Wornum patented improvements in grands in 1870, [ Bennet Woodcroft "Subject-matter Index of Patentees and Applications for Patents of Invention for the Year 1870" George Edward Eyre and William Spottiswoode, London 1872 p.291] and soon afterwards Robert Wornum & Sons offered four sizes between five feet six inches (168cm) and eight feet six inches (259cm) on the new plan, priced between 56 and 96 guineas ($260 to $450), [advertisement "The Times" July 28, 1871 p.15] but the tone of the wooden frame pianos they showed in 1872 at the Second Annual International Exhibition at London was described by one commentator as "sweet, but hardly full or forcible enough." ["International Exhibition, 1872" "Journal of the Society of Arts" vol. XX no. 1,038 (October 11, 1872) Bell and Daldy, London 1872 p.890] Wornum patented further improvements in grands in 1875, introducing hammers with reversed orientation in order to permit longer strings relative to the size of the piano, ["Catalogue of the Special Loan Collection" p.164] and the firm displayed short and full size "Iron Grand Pianofortes" on this plan, along with a piccolo upright at the 1878 Universal Exposition in Paris, ["Class 14 - Musical Instruments" "Official Catalogue of the British Section" part I, second edition. George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode, London. 1878. p.65-66] for which they were awarded a silver medal. [Gustave Chouquet, "Rapport sur les instruments de musique" "Exposition universelle internationale de 1878 à Paris. Rapports du jury international" Imprimerie Nationale, Paris. 1880. p.34]

By 1889 Robert Wornum & Sons was under the direction of Wornum's grandson, also named A. N. Wornum. ["Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians" 1889 p.489 ] Harding lists 1900 as the year their last entry in the London directories as piano manufacturers. [Harding, appendix G, p.425]

References