Townsman, 1992-03, Page 25Remembering
when every
parlour
had a piano
Kelly, Wayne. Downright Upright: A
History of the Canadian Piano Indus-
try. Natural Heritage/Natural History
Inc. c1991. Paperback. 160 pp.
ISBNO-920474-60-8.
There was a time not so long ago
when it seemed that most homes had
at least one piano in them. Broadcast
and electronic music was not so avail-
able and, indeed at one time, not
available at all. If one was to make
and hear music it was necessary to
have one's own instrument.
The piano is a large and expensive
instrument so the question is raised as
to why it became the instrument of
choice in so many Canadian house-
holds. How does this tie in with the
extensive piano building and sales
industry which developed in this
country? All of this is the subject of
this paperback.
The earliest reference to pianos of a
sort date from the 1780's in Quebec.
These first pieces were, of course,
imported and were old world designs
such as the square piano which took
up considerable room in a house and
which may have been a poor design.
As well, the woods used were not
suited to the rigors of the Canadian
climate. The sweltering summers and
the dry interiors of homes in winter
were not kind to European woods and
many of the instruments did not sur-
vive very long. The long trip from
Europe also took its toll in accidents
and mishaps.
The first pianos to be built in
Canada were made in 1816 in Quebec
by a German immigrant and it was
onward and upward from there. Many
manufacturers began by turning out
organs and later added pianos to their
product lines. Much further down the
line player pianos were added to the
list. This sounds straight forward
enough but the history is in fact
sketchy. There were scores if not hun-
dreds of manufacturers as well as
importers and combinations of the
two. The last manufacturer went out
of business in Clinton in 1988.
The book is arranged with a histori-
cal introduction and then there is a
short chapter on each of the major
manufacturers which gives a thumb-
nail sketch, a discussion of the models
and names used and a summary list of
the serial numbers and years they
were used. There is an alphabetical
section listing other manufacturers,
models, etc. A short chapter tells how
to date a piano and another gives sug-
gestions of what to look for when
buying a piano. Of interest are the
sketches and photos of great Canadian
pianists.
There is an index, a bibliography
and notes on the sources of informa-
tion in each chapter. The photos,
sketches and tables add greatly to the
appeal of the book.
This is not a scholarly book in style
but the research stems to have been
extensive. It is not the kind of book to
be read through at one go but it will
be consulted frequently for informa-
tion about the Canadian piano indus-
try.
Jerry McDonnell is a high school
librarian and avid reader who has
reviewed books for several publica-
tions across Ontario.
Fine dining not part of the adventure
Continued from 16
salads and fruit -bottom yogurt. And
lunch-time swims while Spirit was
heaving to in water whose depth is
measured in thousands of feet. The
broker said no to the swim, mumbling
something about a movie called Jaws.
To get rid of the salt film there were
showers from solar -heated bags of
fresh water suspended from the
shrouds. There was even a trip aloft —
to check the rigging but also to take
photographs and to scan the horizon.
In time that now seemed too short,
Bermuda announced herself with a
midnight glow, exactly where she was
supposed to be. A few hours later
came the revolving flash of the Gibb's
Hill Lighthouse. At noon Spirit sliced
through the Town Cut and tied up at
the customs dock in St. George's Har-
bor. The crew wobbled ashore after
118.5 hours afloat — 90 minutes short
of five full days. All on the same tack,
averaging about six knots an hour. No
longer did their experience with such
ventures come from only books and
boat shows.
Bermuda is a gathering point for
yachts travelling the Atlantic, coming
and going in all directions. Their
crews bring stories and trade them
freely. One that brought a smirk of
content to the face of the broker was
about sharks and the teller thought
crazy those who would chance a mid -
ocean swim. There was no such
occurrence for Spirit on her return to
the Americas, which began after about
five days in Bermuda. The route back
was more northerly, to New York
City, and about 50 or 60 miles longer,
though not all on the same tack. Still,
the average speed was about six
knots.
But the Gulf Stream caused more
problems the second time around and
for most of a day and all of one night
the wind blew at about 30 knots. The
seas ran 12 to 15 feet, not big by
ocean standards, but large enough to
wash over the foredeck and slam
walls of water into the cockpit. At
times the noise of it all — the pounding
of the boat and the wind that pro-
pelled it — made communication diffi-
cult. For a final lick there was a driv-
ing thunderstorm as Spirit camc hard
by the Ambrose Light before seeking
refuge in Great Kills Harbor.
The next morning featured an unfor-
gettable motor sail up the Hudson
River, along the Manhattan water-
front, and past the Statue of Liberty.
The lady never looked so good.
And — for a moment at least — it was
a trip that no one wanted to end.
TOWNSMAN/MARCH-APRIL 1992 23