This book is on sale at $2 off the regular price while supplies last.
This fascinating 110-page book is a facsimile of the Lyon & Healy catalog from 1899, after they had been making harps for 10 years. Go back in time to when double-action pedal harps started at $750, and the most expensive, a gold-leafed #25 concert grand with extended soundboard, was only $1,375. Gut strings started at 12 cents each, and a complete set, including the wires, was only $14.
The “Mechanical Description” section includes drawings of their “new and improved” mechanism and inside construction of the harps. Other sections include harp history, harp care, and tuning.
"A Catechism of the Harp” answers questions about harps, such as: what are its uses, is it hard to learn, instruction, use in orchestras, terms of purchase, and is it suitable for children? My favorite part is the paragraph entitled “A New Occupation for Women.” It begins: “Most occupations in which women are employed are today over-crowded. The salaries paid are beggarly, and the work is usually of the most trying description. Here then is a chance for the average young woman to learn a profession at once delightful and remunerative.”
The “Indorsements” are great fun. They include testimonial letters and photographs of 58 harpists: from 12-year-old girls to the leading professional orchestral harpists of the day.
The list of harp music for sale includes composers that we still play today: Bochsa, Godefroid, Oberthur, Pierne, Hasselmans, Dussek, Naderman, Thomas, and more. Most of the music ranged from 40 cents to about $3, with Naderman’s “Ecole au methode” selling for a whopping $8.
This book is an important educational and nostalgic look at the harp world of 100 years ago. It should be part of every harpist’s library. 110 pages paper-bound.
